Progress Software State of Legal 2026: 85% Use AI, But 77% Say Work Is Still Largely Manual — Integration Gap Is the Real Story

Progress Software's State of Legal 2026 (nationwide survey of 304 US-based lawyers in law firms and in-house legal departments, July 29) found that 85% of lawyers use AI for legal research, document summarization, case management, and intake support. Despite near-universal adoption, 77% say much of their work remains manual, 73% report workflows with too many steps, and 84% say inconsistent processes across teams or systems reduce efficiency. 95% want legal technology that is simple, intuitive, and free of unnecessary features. Only 24% report that a significant portion of their daily work is automated. The top barriers to broader adoption are integration challenges, budget constraints, and security concerns — the same three barriers that have persisted since 2024. For mid-sized firm leaders: the Progress data confirm that the adoption headline ("everyone is using AI") masks a deeper operational challenge. Wide individual use without workflow-level integration produces the same fragmented output as having no AI at all. The firms gaining efficiency are those that have moved from individual AI use to designed AI workflows with consistent processes across teams.