Everlaw Survey Highlights How Generative AI is Shaking Up the Billable Hour for the Legal Industry

Nearly half of respondents report that GenAI saves them up to an estimated 260 hours per year

OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Today, Everlaw, the cloud-native investigation and litigation platform, published its fifth annual "Ediscovery Innovation Report,” which gathered insights from legal professionals on the effects of generative AI (GenAI) and how it is fundamentally transforming the business of law. GenAI is delivering unprecedented efficiency gains to legal professionals, with nearly half reclaiming up to 260 hours annually, equivalent to 32.5 working days per year, while 90% expect the technology to reshape billing practices within two years.

In partnership with the Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS) and the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA), Everlaw surveyed nearly 300 legal professionals in the U.S. across law firms, corporate legal departments, government agencies and legal service providers to surface key trends in technology use for litigation and investigation work.

The 2025 report reveals findings that challenges the idea of the billable hour within the legal industry:

• GenAI Poised to Remake Firm Economics: A remarkable 90% of respondents believe that the proliferation of GenAI either already has significantly altered conventional billing practices or will do so within the next two years.
• Significant Time Savings: Nearly half of respondents report that GenAI saves them between one to five hours per week. Across an entire year, this average amounts up to 260 hours, or 32.5 working days. For an Am Law 200 firm with an average of 757 employees, these savings collectively amount to 197,000 hours per year.
• Optimism for AI Grows, Readiness Remains a Hurdle: Legal professionals are optimistic about AI's efficiency gains with 80% expecting it to ease "drudge work" and 75% anticipating greater job efficiency. While a majority still feel unprepared for AI's broader impacts, this sentiment is slowly decreasing with the preparedness gap narrowing from 72% in 2023 to 68% in 2024 and 63% this year.

“The standard playbook is to bill time in six minute increments, and GenAI is flipping the script,” says Chuck Kellner, senior strategic discovery advisor, Everlaw. “Clients are finding new ways to quantify value. Legal professionals are gaining back precious hours to analyze, refine and advise. As the impact of AI continues to grow, billing practices will evolve to reflect value and efficiency as well as time.”

“The survey results suggest that while many expect billing practices to change, it’s not clear yet exactly how or when AI will have the biggest effect,” said Alex Su, Chief Revenue Officer, Latitude Legal. “Everyone is likely aware of the billable hour's resilience, despite repeated predictions of its demise. I believe that there's a unique opportunity right now for law firm leaders to experiment with new billing models, like flat fees or results-based pricing.”

The survey also reveals a clear AI divide emerging from the cloud divide. Legal professionals with cloud-deployed ediscovery software are:

• 3x more likely to use GenAI
• 4x more positive attitude toward GenAI's proliferation in the legal industry
• 4x more likely to see GenAI as standard within the next two years

With GenAI adoption continuing to expand – 3x faster than that of the cloud in 2025 – the opportunities for growth and experimentation within the legal industry continue to grow. Respondents already using GenAI (37%) reported that more than half leverage it weekly, with nearly a quarter using it daily or multiple times a day, underscoring its rapid integration into daily legal practice.

The full 2025 Ediscovery Innovation Report is available for download. Read our blog post to learn more about this survey.

Methodology: Everlaw conducted this study with ACEDS and ILTA to learn more about key trends in ediscovery innovation – emailing legal professionals in April and May of 2025 and receiving 299 completed responses to the survey. Respondents were not provided an incentive for participation; however, Everlaw made a $5,000 donation to Save the Children and the Innocence Project on behalf of the survey participants. Here are Everlaw's 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 Ediscovery Reports.

About Everlaw

Everlaw helps legal teams navigate the increasingly complex ediscovery landscape to chart a straighter path to the truth. Trusted by Fortune 100 corporate counsel, 91 of the Am Law 200, and all state attorneys general, Everlaw's combination of intuitive experience, advanced technology, and partnership with customers empowers organizations to tackle the most pressing technological challenges—and transform their approach to discovery and litigation in the process. Founded in 2010 and based in Oakland, Calif., Everlaw is funded by top-tier investors, including Andreessen Horowitz, CapitalG, HIG Growth Partners, K9 Ventures, Menlo Ventures, and TPG Growth. Follow us on LinkedIn.