The legal tech trends that defined 2024
Nicole Black.
The year 2024 was one of change. In the midst of a largely unpopular back-to-office push, technological innovation and development occurred at a rapid clip. Legal professionals approached technology with a newfound curiosity and appreciation gained as a result of pandemic-era remote work experimentation. The increasing demand for generative artificial intelligence tools fueled heavy investments in the legal technology industry.
Simultaneously, law firm technology adoption was supported by a flurry of guidance released by ethics committees across the country. As technology upended traditional ways of working, some state bars reconsidered bar exam requirements and others experimented with loosening licensing regulations.
No matter where you looked, change was occurring at a breakneck pace as technology’s impact on the practice of law became inescapable. Through it all, a few key trends emerged that offer clues on where we’re headed in the coming year.
Generative AI as the legal software interface
One key trend was the addition of generative AI to legal technology software to simplify the user interface. In 2023, generative AI functionality was rolled out gradually, with legal technology providers adding surface-level features with plans to offer deeper integration over time. Initial offerings included the ability to revise or summarize text, translate text, conduct basic legal research or draft simple documents.
In 2024, deeper integrations were announced, with generative AI often serving as the point of access to legal tools, providing an intuitive interface that simplifies the user’s experience. Generative AI chatbots began to appear in many programs as the starting point from which users could easily interface with the software and access necessary information.
Better access to firm data with AI
Another trend was the move toward embedded generative AI as a knowledge management tool. Not only does generative AI simplify user interfaces, but it also offers more insight into law firm data. As AI becomes more fully integrated into trusted legal software, the possibilities for data retrieval and analysis are immense, enabling better knowledge management firmwide.
As generative AI assistants are increasingly added to law practice management, document management and billing software, users can query a firm’s database of contacts, messages, documents, matter files, billing records and more. Old case files, memos and filings can be easily located, conflict checks conducted or billing data and documents analyzed.
For example, generative AI could predict the amount of time needed to resolve a matter at intake, assisting lawyers in identifying profitable, client-friendly flat fee rates or alternative billing structures based on similar closed matters. I expect that in 2025 this type of integrated AI functionality will be commonplace in the software tools your firm is already using.
AI powers investment growth in legal tech
In 2024, funding in legal technology saw a significant rise, with both venture capital and private equity firms increasing their investments. This surge was largely driven by the growing adoption of AI-powered tools in areas such as document review, case management and contract analysis. Notable examples of AI-focused products that received notable investments include Clio’s $900 million Series F round announced in July; Harvey’s $100 million Series C investment unveiled that same month; Robin AI’s $26.7 million Series B round in January; DraftWise’s $20 million Series A round in March; and Spellbook’s $19.6 million Series A round in January.
These investments reflect growing confidence in AI’s ability to improve efficiency and cut costs in legal work. They also paved the way for more funding in 2025 as the legal profession continues to prioritize AI-enabled legal software.
The back-to-office debate
According to the 2025 AffiniPay Legal Industry Survey (the full report will be released in spring 2025), nearly 50% of legal employers now mandate in-office or hybrid schedules for all employees. This marks a shift from the remote work trend discussed in my roundup of the top legal tech stories of 2023, when many firms were more flexible about remote work. As the data shows, employers seem to be gaining the upper hand in the push-and-pull over workplace norms.
This change highlights a growing divide between law firm leadership and employees who value flexibility for work-life balance and productivity. Many younger professionals, in particular, prefer hybrid or fully remote options, making retention more difficult for firms with rigid policies. The next few years will be telling, revealing whether these mandates hold or if firms must adapt to retain top talent.
Regulatory shifts are changing legal practice
Regulatory shifts in 2024 brought major changes to legal practice, especially in response to AI. Bar ethics regulators moved quickly to issue guidance for lawyers and their staff on using AI tools. Since April 2023, more than 10 U.S. jurisdictions have issued guidance on generative AI. These guidelines addressed key concerns about competence, confidentiality and supervision, providing much-needed road maps for AI adoption.
Beyond AI, regulators tackled broader issues in legal services. California’s plans to outsource its bar exam to Kaplan has been approved by the state supreme court, while other states are considering alternative pathways to licensure.
Meanwhile, some states, including Oregon, Washington and Nevada, explored allowing unlicensed professionals to practice law in limited areas, such as family law and small claims. These efforts seek to improve access to justice, representing a revised perspective on long-standing rules about who can —and cannot—deliver legal services.
No matter how you look at it, 2024 was a memorable year. The legal profession, long resistant to emerging technologies, switched gears and embraced the tidal wave of change ushered in by generative AI. From AI-powered tools redefining knowledge management and software interfaces to record-setting investments in legal technology, the industry showed a willingness to adapt that seemed unthinkable just a few years ago.
These shifts also exposed tensions—between employers and employees over workplace flexibility, and between long-standing practices and new technologies as regulators worked to update long-standing rules. Heading into the new year, the rapid pace of change shows no signs of slowing. In 2025, the challenge will be balancing the push for innovation with the profession’s core principles of competence, ethics and client service.
Nicole Black is a Rochester, New York-based attorney, author and journalist, and she is the principal legal insight strategist at MyCase, a company that offers legal practice management software for small firms. She is the nationally recognized author of Cloud Computing for Lawyers and is co-author of Social Media for Lawyers: The Next Frontier, both published by the American Bar Association. She writes regular columns for ABAJournal.com and Above the Law, has authored hundreds of articles for other publications, and regularly speaks at conferences regarding the intersection of law and emerging technologies. Follow her on X (formerly Twitter) @nikiblack, or she can be reached at [email protected].
This column reflects the opinions of the author and not necessarily the views of the ABA Journal—or the American Bar Association.
