Beyond Adoption: People, Technology and the Future of Legal Work
The 2026 Changing Legal Landscape Report, produced by ALPMA and Dye & Durham, draws on the experiences of 555 completed responses from law firms across Australia and New Zealand. What emerges is a picture of a profession investing in people and technology while confronting retention pressure, economic uncertainty and rising expectations around risk, integration and client value.
The report is organised around five themes, addressing what matters now, why it should matter to leadership, and what practical decision follows.
1. Business resilience, growth and client value
Firms are responding to softer conditions with investment, rather than retrenchment. Senior leadership are prioritising operational efficiency (42%) and technology and automation (38%). Personal service and senior-practitioner access remain central to client value, even as fixed-fee and efficiency-led propositions grow. The task for leadership is not people versus technology, but translating automation and efficiency gains into propositions staff can deliver consistently.
2. People, capacity and the future workforce
Workforce planning signals toward growth in core legal capacity: 48% plan to increase solicitor/lawyer headcount, driven by workload, client demand and succession. Paralegal roles are the next strongest growth area, while demand for secretarial and administrative support are expected to remain the same. There is no uniform expectation that AI is replacing legal roles. However, recruitment alone won’t close the capacity gap if the experience of legal work remains difficult to sustain.
3. Wellbeing, flexibility and sustainable work
Solicitors report higher mobility intent and lower personal balance compared to leadership or administrative support roles. Shorter working weeks, flexibility, remuneration and alternative working practices are seen as the most meaningful levers, while traditional programs such as EAPs tend to score lower. Direct insight into employee experience can bridge this perception gap.
4. Technology foundations and connected operations
Technology is becoming more entrenched in daily practice, but cost, time and resourcing constraints still block adoption. Most respondents believe technology improves their work-life balance (74%), while also reporting that personal adoption often runs ahead of formal organisational roadmaps. The strategic question is how firms can convert positive attitudes and rising tool use into governed deployment across connected systems, so automation and AI outputs rest on reliable data and workflow design.
5. AI adoption, governance and work redesign
Less than half (44.5%) say their firm has people who can use AI effectively. Output quality, professional risk and supervision are still limiting redesign, and a minority still report unclear or unsanctioned use, showing policy hasn’t caught up with behaviour. Firms that progress will be those able to connect AI strategy to workflow design, skills, integration and measurement, not those that accumulate tools without changing how work is done.
Download the full report for key insights and strategic takeaways for each theme.
