LegalTechTalk 2026: GCs Want Visibility Into AI Use, Not Just Outcomes
A panel discussion at LegalTechTalk 2026 on "What Metrics Are GCs Using to Evaluate Outside Counsel?" surfaced a consistent theme: clients are becoming increasingly interested in how legal work is being performed, which technologies are being used, and how those technologies improve efficiency — not just the quality of the final advice. One senior GC noted that if technology reduces the time lawye
BY FRONTIER DESK · JULY 28, 2026 · 1 MIN READ
A panel discussion at LegalTechTalk 2026 on "What Metrics Are GCs Using to Evaluate Outside Counsel?" surfaced a consistent theme: clients are becoming increasingly interested in how legal work is being performed, which technologies are being used, and how those technologies improve efficiency — not just the quality of the final advice. One senior GC noted that if technology reduces the time lawyers spend producing work, firms must demonstrate that clients are paying for expertise, judgment, and commercial outcomes, not merely for hours worked. The commercial value of the legal profession, in this framing, increasingly lies in strategic advice, commercial understanding, trusted relationships, and professional judgment — not in execution capacity. For BD teams, this is both a positioning opportunity (differentiate on judgment and strategic value) and a disclosure obligation (be prepared to explain, at the relationship review level, what AI tools are being used and what they are doing).