Sixty-six percent of legal leaders plan to accelerate investments in legal technology because they see it as a way to manage a growing legal workload amid budget constraints. But as generative AI (GenAI) and other technology mature, legal leaders are tapping emerging technology to do more than save costs and facilitate automation. These technologies also allow legal staff to focus on high priority tasks, maximizing their overall value contribution.

To fully optimize their investments in technology, leaders are shifting away from short-term task automation to technologies that enhance employee capabilities overall. This approach creates what Gartner experts call the "augmented legal workforce," in which employees' capabilities to perform legal tasks are complemented and boosted by investing in the right tech services and solutions.