Everlaw survey finds 54% already reducing work sent to outside firms

On October 20, 2026, Everlaw published a Wakefield Research survey of 300 in-house legal professionals in which 54% said AI had already reduced the volume sent to outside counsel and another 44% planned reductions within a year. The sponsored survey also reported that 92% were seeing measurable cost savings and that respondents increasingly valued specialist expertise over routine labor. The results are perceptions rather than audited panel-spend data, but they indicate the criteria likely to shape convergence and matter allocation. Client teams should identify work at risk of insourcing and convert it into scoped, technology-enabled offers tied to business outcomes and escalation judgment.