Survey: AI Dominates Challenges as Law Departments Tackle Workload and Cost Control

Harbor Law Department Survey in collaboration with CLOC finds pronounced focus on cost control as more work shifts in-house

Harbor, a provider of expert services to law firms, corporations and their law departments, announced the release of benchmarking data from its 21st annual survey of corporate law departments, in collaboration with CLOC (Corporate Legal Operations Consortium). The 2024 Harbor Law Department Survey found that as 83% of departments anticipate continued growth in overall demand for legal services, managing the workload and bandwidth of internal resources is the top challenge identified by 63% of respondents. In addition, the adoption of AI has increased significantly, with 30% reporting that they have an AI tool currently implemented and in use, up from 18% in 2023, and 54% considering implementation in the next 1 to 2 years, up from 40% last year.

“The pressures faced by corporate law departments today are very real. With increasing concerns over costs, headcount remains unchanged for over half the respondents in our survey, leaving in-house teams contending with growing workloads,” said Lauren Chung, survey editor and practice lead for Strategy + Transformation, Harbor. “Department leaders are asking what value technology can deliver over the next few years – from newer AI tools to upgrades of existing systems – and how they can better equip and support their teams so they can deliver on increased expectations for legal services delivery.”