2. In-house teams are reframing outside counsel as a portfolio decision

GC AI’s vendor-authored outside counsel management guide frames 2026 as a portfolio question: which work belongs outside, which belongs inside, and what AI moves the line. It argues that routine work such as NDAs, DPAs, standard MSAs, internal advice memos and first-pass contract review is shifting in-house, while specialist tax, high-stakes M&A, novel regulatory enforcement and bet-the-company litigation remain law-firm territory. Even allowing for vendor positioning, the buyer signal is important: GCs are operationalizing matter routing around cost, risk, speed and AI capability.

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