Blickstein Group Law Firm COO Survey: 66% Not Documenting AI Efficiency Gains — 69% Using Both Legal and General AI Tools

Above the Law reported (July 31) on the Blickstein Group's annual Law Firm COO Survey, finding that 66% of firms are not formally documenting AI-related efficiency gains, and 69% of firms are using both legal-specific and general AI tools — a governance concern given the data security implications of general AI tools in professional contexts. Most COOs believe the biggest initiative for their firm in the coming year is technology investment and adoption (not talent acquisition and retention). 15% identified lack of strategic consensus as the biggest constraint to profitability; 28% said lack of consensus was the biggest obstacle to implementing change. For mid-sized firm COOs and innovation leads: the combination of no efficiency documentation (66%) and mixed legal/general AI tool use (69%) is the governance gap that regulators and bar associations are beginning to target. Firms using general AI tools without enterprise-grade contracts — no-training commitments, data residency, confidentiality terms — are exposed on both professional responsibility and privilege grounds. The progress toward documentation is also the prerequisite for the ROI conversation: without formal efficiency metrics, the firm cannot demonstrate AI value to clients, to partners, or in pitch contexts.