Forbes: Firms Adopted AI in Record Numbers — Selling Hours Got Harder

A Forbes analysis published August 19 — drawing on Clio data for solo and small firms — captures the paradox at the unit economics level: 71% of solo lawyers and 75% of small firms are now using AI, but over half have no clear AI usage policy, and 86% have not changed their billing rates despite AI-driven productivity gains. The piece frames this as the central dilemma for any firm billing by the hour: "The math is unyielding. Firms charge for time, but AI reduces the time required for tasks. What once took a human eight hours can now be completed in four, effectively halving the invoice." Firms that absorb productivity gains as margin without passing them through to clients or repricing work are effectively deferring a structural reckoning. The Forbes piece recommends a three-step diagnostic: identify highest-revenue services, compare time spent 18 months ago to now, then determine how recovered time is being redeployed — toward client engagement and strategic depth (defensible), or toward higher volume at the same rate (the "treadmill effect").