Getting to Full AI Adoption What Top Legal Departments Do Differently

Is your legal department still relying on outdated on-premise systems? As the pressure to do more with less increases, the demand for smarter, faster, and more scalable legal tech is only growing.

AI adoption in the legal industry is no longer a distant trend. It's becoming essential for in-house counsel to stay competitive and efficient. Forward-thinking legal teams are already leveraging AI-assisted review and GenAI tools to streamline workflows and reduce risk.

Today, we're taking a closer look at what top legal departments do differently when it comes to AI integration and why traditional systems must evolve to keep up.

AI Adoption: The Urgency Behind Legal Tech Transformation

Many legal departments are under pressure to deliver faster results with fewer resources. That's made it harder for teams to rely on outdated systems that can't keep up.

The pace of change in the legal industry is picking up, and the tools legal professionals use need to match that pace. There are three primary reasons legal teams are moving quickly to upgrade their technology:

• The high cost of inefficiency
• The growing demands on in-house counsel
• The rise of AI in legal industry tools

The High Cost of Inefficiency

Older systems often slow things down. Document review, matter tracking, and compliance workflows take longer than they should.

Manual steps add risk and increase the chances of errors. Without automation or smart tools, teams end up spending more time and money on work that could be handled better.

The Growing Demands on In-House Counsel

In-house teams are handling more than ever. From regulatory updates to contract review, they're expected to deliver fast, accurate results.

Leadership often expects Legal to match the speed and flexibility of other departments. That pressure makes it clear that legacy systems don't meet today's expectations.

The Rise of AI in Legal Industry Tools

More legal professionals are adopting AI to support their day-to-day work. AI-assisted review and GenAI ediscovery tools now play a larger role in helping teams sort, search, and assess data faster. The legal industry is shifting toward smarter solutions that improve accuracy and free up time for more strategic work.

Why On-Premise Systems Must Adapt

Many legal departments still rely on traditional on-premise systems for:

• Case management
• Document review
• Internal tracking

These tools often lack the speed, scale, and flexibility needed for modern legal work.

They were not built to support AI integration or the growing use of digital tools. There are three main reasons these systems fall short today:

• Siloed data and limited system access
• Lack of scalability and speed
• Barriers to AI-assisted tools like GenAI ediscovery

Siloed Data and Limited System Access

Most on-premise platforms keep data locked in one location. The setup limits access for remote teams or global offices.

It also makes collaboration harder. Without shared data, legal teams miss out on opportunities to streamline work across departments or connect to other business tools.

Lack of Scalability and Speed

As legal workloads grow, older systems can't keep up. They slow down during large document reviews and struggle with search functions.

Updates and upgrades are often delayed or skipped, which adds more problems over time. The lack of scale makes it hard for legal teams to support high-volume tasks without major delays.

Barriers to AI-Assisted Tools Like GenAI Ediscovery

On-premise systems are often incompatible with AI-assisted review tools. Many can't support the storage or processing power needed to run GenAI ediscovery effectively.

This puts legal departments at a disadvantage. Without access to smarter tools, teams spend more time on manual review and risk missing key insights.

Practical Steps to Accelerate AI Integration

Legal departments that want to move forward with AI often don't know where to begin. Starting can feel like a big task, but it becomes more manageable with the right steps in place.

Four practical steps help speed up AI integration:

• Audit current systems and tools
• Choose AI solutions that match team needs
• Roll out changes in small, focused phases
• Track results and adjust along the way

Audit Current Systems and Tools

Before anything new is added, legal departments need to understand what they already have. It means reviewing:

• Software
• Workflows
• Pain points

Teams should identify what processes slow them down and where time is being lost. This gives them a clear view of what needs to change and what can stay.

Choose AI Solutions That Match Team Needs

Not every tool is a good fit. Legal professionals adopting AI should focus on what solves their daily problems.

Utilizing AI might include help with:

• Contract review
• Legal research
• Document sorting

The right tools support what teams already do while helping them work faster and smarter.

Roll Out Changes in Small, Focused Phases

Trying to change everything at once can backfire. Instead, strong legal departments break the process into smaller steps.

They might test one tool with one team, then expand it if it works. It helps reduce confusion and builds trust in the new systems.

Track Results and Adjust Along the Way

AI integration isn't something that ends after setup. Teams need to keep an eye on how things are working.

That means measuring improvements, fixing problems early, and listening to feedback. This ongoing work helps the legal department keep moving forward and get the full value of what they've put in place.

Legal Department Technology: AI Integration Strategies

AI adoption is reshaping how legal departments work, bringing speed and accuracy to daily tasks. Teams that move beyond outdated systems gain a clear advantage.

At Reveal, our AI-powered eDiscovery platform helps legal teams process, analyze, and review data faster. It supports over 900 file types and includes visual tools like dashboards, clustering, and heatmaps to uncover key insights.

Built-in OCR, translation, and transcription features streamline complex files, while supervised learning boosts review speed and accuracy. The platform adapts to your workflow, making document review more efficient and precise for teams of any size or industry.

Get in touch today to find out how we can help with your AI adoption.