Relativity’s new AI in Legal: 2026 Research Data study, with research and analysis by IDC, has a number for everyone who was told the robots were coming for legal hiring. Of the respondents, 57.9% said AI has had no impact on their hiring. More reported increasing hiring (24.2%) than decreasing it (9.2%). The study draws on 700 legal professionals across 20 countries.
The other half of the story: 80.5% already use AI in their legal work, and so do more than 91% of chief legal officers. IDC’s Ryan O’Leary says that at those levels using AI stops being a differentiator and starts being a floor. So the jobs are still there, AI counsel jobs included, but “I use AI” no longer sets you apart. We saw the flip side in AI rebounding, where people replaced by AI were rehired at a premium. The skill worth building is using the tools well.
As Relativity’s David Horrigan puts it: “What did surprise us was that, for most respondents, AI has had no effect on hiring at this point, and more reported adding staff than cutting it.”
Read: Most Legal Professionals Say AI Has Not Yet Changed Hiring, According to a Relativity Study at Relativity