AI survey: How fit is the Bavarian legal profession?
The legal tech market in Germany is on the upswing, so now is exactly the right time to take a close look at the legal market - what is driving law firms, where do they stand in terms of digitalisation, and how ready are they for the innovations to come?
In cooperation with the “Bavarian Bar Association” (BAV), the “IT-Law Group of the German Bar Association” (davit) and Noerr, we surveyed more than 650 lawyers this summer. The aim was to determine the ‘AI fitness’ of Bavarian lawyers and German IT lawyers.
In addition to the use of artificial intelligence (AI), the survey also looked at the general use of digital tools and cloud software. The focus was on the use, willingness to use, challenges and objectives of these digital technologies. It also explored issues such as budget planning and the perceived importance of these innovations in everyday legal practice.
The following insight into the survey results not only provides an initial assessment of the AI and digital fitness of the selected German law firms, but also reveals clear differences in the use of digital tools and artificial intelligence between the two groups.
Use of digital tools
While 93% of Bavarian lawyers already use other digital tools in addition to standard applications such as word processing, websites, email and beA, this figure rises to over 99% among IT lawyers. The most commonly cited tools are law firm software and electronic file management.
Use of cloud software
45% of Bavarian lawyers already use cloud software, while more than 80% of their IT law colleagues agree.
However, when asked about the use of cloud software in the context of the GDPR, the differentiation according to server location is also legally relevant. Only around 4% of Bavarian lawyers say they use US-based cloud services, while around 17% of IT lawyers confirm this. It remains to be seen whether tech-savvy IT lawyers are simply more aware of where their software is hosted, or whether they are actually more courageous when it comes to processing data on US servers.
Use of artificial intelligence
The biggest discrepancy between the groups is in the use of AI. 84% of IT lawyers use AI-based solutions, while only 38% of Bavarian lawyers do so. The most frequently mentioned AI tools here by far are DeepL and ChatGPT.
Budget planning and the importance of AI
Although many lawyers recognise the importance of AI – 77% (or 93%; davit) consider it to be of great to very great importance – only a few are planning a budget for AI in the coming year. This stark contrast is illustrated once again when it comes to the question of the (planned) use of AI: 37% of the Bavarian lawyers surveyed neither use AI nor plan to use it in the future.
Changes to the compensation model
The ‘billable hour’, i.e. billing by the hour, is still a common model among lawyers. However, in the context of digital innovation and the associated increase in efficiency, the question needs to be asked: Is this model fit for the future? And what will change?
The lawyers surveyed also had their say. The most common responses show that, on the one hand, less billable time per client is expected and, on the other hand, that fixed-price billing will increasingly replace the time-based model.
Challenges and opportunities in dealing with AI
In summary, the survey shows that many lawyers recognise the potential of artificial intelligence, but are often reluctant to actually use or invest in the technologies. The challenge is to harness the benefits of AI without neglecting legal and privacy requirements.
These findings show that now is the perfect time to invest in trustworthy and future-proof innovation and shape the legal market of tomorrow.
Want to learn more about the findings and dive deeper into the analysis of digitalisation in the legal market? Read the full study with more insights here:
Download BAV AI-survey Download davit AI-survey