Senior figures from the Legal Software Suppliers Association (LSSA) have set out their vision for how artificial intelligence will reshape legal services by 2026, following a closed-door member session in London earlier this month.
The discussion brought together managing directors and senior executives from leading legal technology providers. Themes ranged from automation and client expectations to data readiness, cultural resistance and the wider economic impact of faster transactions.
Automation as the only viable path
Rob Gurney, Managing Director of Ochresoft, warned that the gap between consumer expectations and current legal processes was widening. He argued that automation was now unavoidable if legal services were to remain fit for purpose. “Expectation and reality are going like this and the only thing that’s going to make legal services fit for consumer expectations again is automation,” he said, adding that the pace of AI development meant firms should not dismiss models that had seemed inadequate only months earlier.
AI at the front door
Oliver Tromp, UK Vice President of Actionstep, highlighted the growing role of AI-powered reception tools. He suggested that clients increasingly value speed and responsiveness, with AI systems able to capture and process client instructions outside normal office hours. “The client is changing really fast,” Tromp observed, noting that lawyers could begin the working week already equipped with detailed client information gathered by AI.
Concerns about hallucinations receding
Members agreed that fears around AI hallucinations were diminishing as sector-specific models matured. Gurney emphasised that properly engineered legal agents, using the right sources, were not exhibiting the problems associated with general-purpose systems.
Despite technological progress, several contributors pointed to entrenched habits within the profession. Gurney noted that even highly efficient systems had struggled to gain traction in the past, with adoption rates remaining low. He argued that the real challenge was mindset, not technology, and that systemic change would only occur if the profession collectively embraced new models.
Members also stressed that many firms were not yet in a position to adopt AI effectively, with legacy systems and fragmented data architectures limiting progress. Without clean, accessible data, they warned, firms would struggle to realise the benefits of automation.
Lawyers’ role will evolve, not disappear
Gurney was clear that AI should not be seen as a threat to lawyers’ jobs. Instead, he argued, technology would take on much of the heavy lifting, allowing practitioners to focus on service quality and client relationships.
LSSA Chief Executive Kevin Horlock said: “The message from our members is clear: AI is now central to the future of legal services – it’s not a peripheral innovation. Firms that prepare their data, modernise their systems and embrace the expectations of today’s clients will lead the market. Our role at the LSSA is to help guide the industry through this transition and ensure technology strengthens, rather than disrupts, legal practice.”
