There is a growing gap between how quickly legal work is evolving and how comfortable firms feel naming that change. ABA’s latest AI Task Force report confirms several trends that legal leaders can no longer afford to ignore.

Innovation is no longer about experimentation at the edges. It is about how firms create value, tell stronger stories, and build strategy in a changing legal landscape.

For generations, the legal profession has drawn a clear line between legal thinking and technical thinking. Lawyers practiced law. IT teams managed systems. Technology was treated as a back-office function rather than a strategic capability. That divide is now disappearing. From the perspective of a legal futurist, the most important shift underway in the profession is this: the lawyer of the future is not just a legal expert - they are a strategic technologist. And firms tha

Artificial intelligence is revolutionizing law firms, but not all AI meets the demands of legal work. Generic tools can summarize or draft text but often lack the nuance and precision required. The distinction between general-purpose and case-specific AI involves understanding context, accuracy, and accountability.