Artificial intelligence in the legal sector: pressures and challenges of transformation

Recent technological developments in automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) promise to disrupt the very foundations of how legal work is practised and delivered. Yet how they challenge current business models, where they encounter resistance, and how the benefits of AI can be realised remain unexplored. Drawing on interviews with professionals in the UK legal services sector, the paper highlights how technological and market pressures combine to challenge the business models of legal services firms. However, the findings reveal important cultural and structural challenges that hamper transformation. The paper extends the debate on technological disruption in legal services through a focus on business model innovation as a tool that can support firms in the sector to reimagine legal service provision.