This article is adapted from “2026 State of the Corporate Law Department Report,” originally published by Thomson Reuters.
Corporate legal departments have embraced value, AI, and data-driven strategies to better align with their organizations’ overall business goals, but a new report reveals a disconnect: C-Suite leaders want clearer proof of legal’s impact on business success
Key takeaways:
- A need to find new ways to demonstrate value — Legal departments are under increasing pressure to do more with less, as nearly half of GCs surveyed cite staffing and resource constraints as their top barrier to delivering additional value. Despite these limitations, expectations from the C-Suite continue to rise.
- AI adoption accelerates, business strategy comes next — Legal departments are rapidly embracing technology to improve efficiency, manage resources, and address cost pressures. Not surprisingly, the proportion of GCs calling AI a strategic imperative has doubled.
- Disconnect between legal departments and C-Suite perceptions — While many general counsel believe their departments are significant contributors to business success, most C-Suite executives do not share this view. Fully 86% of GCs say they believe their department is a significant contributor, but only 17% of C-Suite executives agree.
Although legal departments have established a solid foundation upon which a business can stand, ultimately, C-Suites don’t want just a foundation. They want help building the entire house, the report shows, directly enabling the services that companies provide to customers.
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