The new report by the Legal Services Research Centre found 55% of Victorian lawyers surveyed were using AI tools in their legal practice, up from 37% in 2025. Among lawyers using AI, 78% said their use for legal work had increased over the past year.
Drawing on the 2026 Victorian Lawyer Census a voluntary survey of 2,221 Victorian lawyers, the research explores how AI use is changing legal practice, pricing and the relationship between lawyers and their clients.
One of the biggest changes since 2025 is who is using AI. Last year, use was more concentrated among younger and early-career lawyers. Those differences have now largely disappeared among lawyers aged under 60, with more than half of respondents across every career-stage group using AI. This indicates that AI capability is increasingly becoming a skill lawyers need to maintain throughout their careers, rather than simply develop as they enter the profession.
General-purpose AI remains dominant, with 79% of lawyers who use AI relying on tools such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Copilot. The shift towards legal-specific AI tools has been comparatively modest.
The report’s co-author, Principal Researcher, Dr Georgina Rychner, said the findings showed that increasing adoption did not necessarily mean the benefits of AI were being shared equally.
“AI is quickly becoming part of everyday legal practice, but widespread use should not be mistaken for widespread benefit,” Dr Rychner said. “We’re seeing AI use spread across age groups and career stages, while the benefits for clients are still relatively limited and uneven.”
The research also found that anticipated changes to legal pricing have yet to occur on a large scale. While most lawyers reported no AI-related changes to pricing or service delivery, 26% of AI users in fee-charging practice said AI had resulted in reduced fees for clients. Fee reductions were more commonly reported by lawyers working mainly with business clients.
“The findings also raise important questions about what happens when clients use AI themselves,” Dr Rychner said. “Lawyers are much more likely to report clients arriving with inaccurate information than with a better understanding of their legal problem. As AI becomes more embedded in legal services, understanding who benefits, who bears the risks and how those benefits can be shared more equitably will be increasingly important.”
Almost half (46%) of client-facing lawyers reported clients arriving with inaccurate or misleading information obtained through AI, while 41% had received AI-generated documents or correspondence requiring correction. By contrast, only 10% reported clients arriving with a better understanding of their legal issues because of AI.
Client use of AI can also create additional work. 46% of lawyers said it increased the time and effort required to deliver services, compared with 19% who said it reduced their workload. The burden was particularly felt in community legal centres.
Overall, the findings suggest generative AI is moving into legal practice faster than its benefits are reaching clients, reinforcing the need to continue monitoring how the technology affects legal practice, consumers and access to justice.
The VLSB+C identified the responsible use of AI as a professional competency risk in its Risk Outlook 2026 and will build on its existing guidance by soon issuing further practical resources for lawyers and law practices to support the safe, ethical and responsible use of AI in legal practice.
About the Legal Services Research Centre
The Legal Services Research Centre is the independent research function of the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, producing empirical research to better understand the legal profession, how people experience legal services, and access to justice.