In 2026, Artificial Intelligence is set to become an essential driver of efficiency and innovation in the Indian legal industry, helping lawyers, startups, and businesses operate smarter and faster than ever before.
This is what was expected in 2025 too, but did that actually happen? If not, what was the reason behind it?
The surveys and trends of 2025 show that the integration and adoption of AI by professionals in the legal industry are still at an early stage, with early adopters moving quickly while a large segment remains cautious due to concerns about accuracy, data privacy, and regulatory compliance.
As noted in “The AI-driven future of legal efficiency” report by Thomson Reuters (2025), almost 44% of everyday legal tasks from reviewing documents to analysing contracts and conducting due diligence work are now deemed automatable with AI.
If the gap widens between tech-enabled firms and traditional practices it will create a competitive divide in the industry. Then early adopters will gain significant efficiency, cost, and client-service advantages and others may find themselves at a disadvantage, struggling to keep pace with clients’ expectations for faster, more transparent, and data-driven legal services.
However, as AI systems become more reliable and transparent, and as regulations mature to address ethical and operational risks, the legal sector is steadily moving toward a tipping point. Growing pressure to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and manage increasing workloads is pushing firms to reconsider their hesitation.
Firms that embrace this change early will be better positioned to deliver faster, more accurate, and more scalable legal services.
Key Challenges preventing wider AI adoption in Legal Practice
Leading law firms like Trilegal are using Artificial Intelligence to automate their routine tasks with an aim to build a future-ready and multidimensional legal practice as told by Mr Nishan Parikh, a partner in the firm.
Why, then, does hesitation persist across a large segment of the industry when it comes to adopting AI for task automation?
Here are some key reasons behind this hesitation:
Trust and Accuracy Concerns:
Legal professionals often hesitate to rely fully on AI because the technology is not perfect yet. Mistakes in contracts or legal research can have serious consequences, so many lawyers prefer to review AI outputs carefully rather than trusting them blindly. In fact, only a small percentage of practitioners fully trust AI without verification.
Data Privacy and Security:
Law firms handle highly confidential information, and protecting client data is a top priority. Firms worry about whether AI platforms can keep sensitive documents secure and compliant with data protection laws, which makes them cautious about adoption.
Integration Challenges:
Most legal teams work with established systems and customised workflows. Adding AI tools means changing how people work, which requires time, training, and sometimes costly system updates. This transition can feel overwhelming and disruptive.
High Costs and Uncertain Returns:
For many smaller firms, investing in AI technology feels risky. They worry about the upfront costs versus how much money or time they’ll actually save.
Ethical and Regulatory Questions:
The legal profession is governed by strict rules and ethical standards. Lawyers want more clarity on how AI-generated advice fits into these frameworks.
Lack of AI Knowledge:
Not every lawyer or legal staff member understands how AI works or how to use it effectively. This knowledge gap slows adoption and leads to resistance or misuse.
Cultural Resistance and Job Fears:
Some legal professionals worry that AI will replace jobs or diminish their roles. This fear can lead to pushback and reluctance to embrace AI as a helpful tool and partner.
Real-World Use Cases: How law firms are already benefiting from AI
AI is not just hype, it’s delivering tangible results for law firms across India right now. From top-tier to boutique firms, legal teams are leveraging AI to cut costs, boost speed, and sharpen their edge.
Here are some standout examples showing how it’s working in practice:
Trilegal’s AI-Powered Document Revolution: One of the Mumbai-based leading law firms, Trilegal, uses artificial intelligence for document review, generation, and research tailored to specific practice areas. Their projects and infrastructure lawyers manage massive diligence datasets faster, while the real estate team translates Indian languages to English in minutes.
Khaitan & Co’s In-House KAI Platform: Khaitan launched KAI (Khaitan’s AI), a custom platform integrated into daily workflows. In just November-December 2024, it saved 85-100 hours across use cases, cutting material contract summarisation by 50-60% and document reviews by 50-75%, a clear demonstration of AI’s growing value in legal work.
S&R Associates Streamlines Due Diligence: Partners at S&R use AI to speed up due diligence and deal workflows, spotting red flags early. This shifts lawyer time from routine checks to risk assessment and client strategy, making deals smoother and faster for clients in M&A and beyond.
Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas’ AI-First Strategy: The firm pilots AI tools for enhanced legal capacities. They’re embedding AI across practices, from eDiscovery to drafting, as part of a broader “AI-first” push to stay competitive in a complex regulatory world.
These cases prove AI is strengthening lawyers, not replacing them, delivering 40-75% efficiency gains on repetitive tasks while handling India’s unique regulatory maze.
How LawSimpl seamlessly fits into this new legal workflow
If you’re part of the segment still hesitant to adopt AI, LawSimpl is the ideal place to start. Curious why?
LawSimpl is India’s leading AI-driven legal platform, purpose-built to tackle challenges head-on, making AI adoption seamless, secure, and dependable for startups, SMBs, and law firms. Its effectiveness rests on the following pillars:
Building Trust with India-Specific Accuracy:
Unlike generic AI tools prone to errors, LawSimpl is trained exclusively on Indian statutes, more than 3 million case laws, and local precedents, delivering precise outputs with citations. Legal teams are seeing contract reviews completed 78% faster, with intelligent risk flags that surface key issues and outputs that professionals can confidently verify instead of relying blindly.
Enterprise-Grade Data Privacy and Security:
LawSimpl prioritises confidentiality with ISO 9001 & 27001 certification, data encryption (in transit/at rest). No sensitive client data leaves your control, ensuring full DPDPA compliance without the usual security worries.
Effortless Integration into Daily Workflows:
Features like in-line editing, playbooks and shared workspaces let teams collaborate instantly, with multilingual support for regional laws and natural-language queries in plain English.
Proven ROI with Low Costs:
Its cost-effective subscriptions provide immediate value, earning the trust of over 11,000 users who use the platform for legal research, drafting, and document review.
Bridging the AI Skills Gap: LawSimpl requires no technical expertise as its user-friendly interface supports users through intelligent recommendations, case summaries, and pre-built templates. Over 97% user satisfaction shows that even non-tech-savvy lawyers quickly master research, review, and drafting.
Strengthening Roles, Not Replacing Them:
LawSimpl empowers lawyers to focus on strategy, negotiation, and client advice by automating regular work.
By directly solving these pain points, LawSimpl is not just another tool, it's the practical bridge to AI-powered legal efficiency for India's diverse ecosystem.
Conclusion
So, is AI-powered legal tech set to become the core of the legal sector in 2026?
All signs point to ‘Yes’, not because AI will replace lawyers, but because it will empower them to work smarter, faster, and with greater precision. The legal industry is moving from curiosity to practical adoption. Early adopters are already seeing measurable gains like faster contract reviews, clearer risk insights, improved compliance workflows, and drastically reduced manual effort. As more firms witness these outcomes, hesitation will naturally give way to acceptance.
Yet the shift will not happen through technology alone, it will happen through trust, security, and ease of use. That’s precisely where platforms like LawSimpl make the biggest impact. By addressing core concerns around accuracy, data privacy, cost, workflow integration, and ease of adoption, LawSimpl creates a safe, reliable bridge for legal teams who want to embrace AI without the complexity or risk.
Empower your legal team with AI. Start using LawSimpl today.