It’s good to see this timely article in the graphic below in The New York Times yesterday by Sarah Kessler.

As a General Counsel, the “Where’s My Discount?” question is the exact same question that I have been asking the law firms who deliver legal services to my company.

This quote below from the article is the reality of the intersection of the billable hour and AI:

“Law firms may find themselves in a bind: Using A.I. to work faster cuts billable hours, yet rates can’t rise fast enough to make up the difference. But not using A.I. invites your competition to undercut you.”

While I don’t believe the billable hour will be going away anytime soon, I believe there will be a growing chorus of influential General Counsels and large legal departments who will expect significant legal fee relief from their law firms in this AI era.

If that legal fee relief is not provided, in my view those General Counsels and large legal departments will simply take advantage of a highly competitive legal industry and obtain legal services at more competitive rates from others and/or they will insource more legal work.