BigHand 2026 Report: 96% of Firms Use AI in Support Services — Only 27% Have Redesigned Roles and Workflows

BigHand's 2026 Legal Workflow Leadership Report (published July 9, based on 800+ law firm leader survey) found that 96% of firms are now using AI in legal support services, but only 27% have redesigned roles and workflows to support it. The report's framing — an "operational readiness gap" — is directly relevant to KM professionals: knowledge systems sit beneath many of the support workflows where AI is being deployed, and AI performance in those workflows degrades without the role clarity, workflow design, and knowledge structure that KM has historically owned. Additional data points: 51% of firms expect to lose 21–50% of support staff to retirement, with 24% confirming that turnover is already affecting billable hours and revenue. The retirement risk is a knowledge continuity problem: institutional knowledge embedded in long-serving support staff — matter context, client preferences, workflow muscle memory — is not captured in any DMS unless KM has systematically documented it. The BigHand data gives KM leaders a concrete entry point into the operational readiness conversation at firm level.