Analysis ·
AI puts growing pressure on law firms' business models
Original title, in Spanish: “Aumenta la presión de la IA sobre los modelos de negocio de los bufetes de abogados”
- Publication
- Expansión (Spain) · subscribers only
- Author
- Reena SenGupta
- Published on
- 27 September 2026 · read in the page structured data
Summary
According to a study carried out for the FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2026 report, a growing number of European commercial law firms are accelerating their use of AI, measuring its adoption and generating revenue from it. International firms such as A&O Shearman, Freshfields and PwC, as well as smaller firms such as Noerr, Ecija and Three Crowns, are leading the way. PwC Tax & Legal España says it has saved more than 19,000 hours over six months across nearly 900 Spanish professionals. Dechert reports that its use of AI doubled in 2026 compared with 2025. These developments are reviving the debate on the billable hour model, pricing and the emergence of AI-native firms such as Carta Law, which, according to experts cited, threaten to expand the legal services market.
Summary based on the article's title and standfirst, as the text is not accessible.
Read the article on Expansión →Figures cited
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19,000 hours
Hours saved through AI at PwC Tax & Legal España over six months
PwC Tax & Legal España, nearly 900 professionals, six months in 2026
« PwC Tax & Legal España, por ejemplo, afirma haber ahorrado más de 19.000 horas en un periodo de seis meses entre casi 900 profesionales españoles. »
Source: FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2026
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2 factor
Multiplication of AI use at Dechert between 2025 and 2026
Dechert, 2026 vs 2025
« El bufete internacional Dechert señala que el uso medio de la IA en lo que va de 2026 duplica al de 2025. »
Source: FT Innovative Lawyers Europe 2026
Classification
- Country
- Spain, United Kingdom
- Company size
- Large companies, SMEs
- Industries
- Consulting, legal, accounting, business services
- Companies
- Carta Law (supplier), Avantia (cited), Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (cited), Carta (supplier), CMS UK (cited), Noerr (deploys AI), A&O Shearman (deploys AI), Dechert (deploys AI), Freshfields (deploys AI), Uría Menéndez (cited), Gilbert + Tobin (cited), PwC Tax & Legal España (deploys AI), Hogan Lovells Cadwalader (cited), Ashurst Perkins Coie (cited), Ecija (deploys AI), Legal Tech Collective (cited), Three Crowns (deploys AI)
- Keywords
- law firms, generative artificial intelligence, hourly billing, legaltech, AI adoption, legal services
Entry written by Marsanne Studio from the cited article, with the help of an AI model (claude-sonnet-5). The rights to the article and its illustrations belong to Expansión and its author. Entry translated from French by Claude Sonnet 5.5.