��˾����ҹ����

In-house legal teams are facing hiring freezes and tighter budgets. But instead of shrinking their impact, they’re scaling smarter—using legal tech, AI, and streamlined workflows. The ��˾����ҹ���� In-house Legal Technology Report 2025 reveals how departments are boosting productivity without increasing headcount. This blog explores real-world examples of lean, tech-enabled legal success.

Why legal team size isn’t everything

How can in-house legal teams deliver more with fewer people?

With legal budgets tightening and team growth slowing, many departments face a familiar pressure: do more with less. According to the ��˾����ҹ���� In-house Legal Technology Report 2025, just 23% of in-house counsel expect their legal teams to grow this year - down from 56% in 2023.

Bigger teams used to signal capability and influence. But today, legal leaders are recognising that efficiency, responsiveness, and cross-functional collaboration have a bigger impact.

Hiring freezes, tighter budgets, and mounting workloads are forcing teams to rethink how they operate. And that pivot is already underway.

Tech over talent: Legal teams choose tools to scale impact

The report shows that legal functions are now prioritising technology over talent acquisition as the path to better performance.

"If you're not going to grow the team, then you have to grow the team's capabilities. That’s where technology comes in. It lets us scale up what we can do without needing more headcount."
– Luis de Freitas, Director & Managing Legal Counsel at Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Instead of hiring, teams are investing in automation, workflow platforms, and AI. These tools are helping to reduce repetitive work and free up lawyers for more strategic tasks.

Take document review: in 2023, 38% of respondents said it was a time-drain. In 2025, that’s dropped to 21%.

Many legal teams are turning to platforms like Lexis+ UK to streamline workflows and surface insights faster.

How generative AI is changing legal workflows

"My reflex now is to actually use generative AI and say, ‘Here’s the problem I’m having - please can you give me four or five ways to fix this.’"
– Alex Love, Corporate Counsel at Algolia

From document generation to legal research and problem-solving, generative AI is helping in-house counsel act faster and smarter. These tools aren’t replacing legal expertise - they’re amplifying it.

From legal gatekeeper to business partner: A mindset shift

Scaling smarter isn’t just about tech - it’s also about mindset. In-house legal teams are evolving from reactive responders to proactive business enablers.

That shift demands:

• Commercial awareness

• Creative thinking

• A solutions-first approach

The top traits legal leaders say are essential in 2025:

• Pragmatism and agility (45%)

• Good communication skills (44%)

• Commercial awareness (41%)

"Being known as solution-focused means people come to you sooner. That early involvement makes all the difference - not just in reducing risk, but in delivering something that works for the business."
– Cheryl Gale, Head of Legal at Yoto

This evolution from reactive to proactive is central to legal ops strategy – more on that in our Legal Operations hub.

Real examples: How legal teams are scaling with AI

At GWI, Legal Counsel Temitayo (Ty) Ogunade is leveraging generative AI to support the wider business:

"We’ve built a chatbot in Slack that answers legal FAQs. It’s AI-powered, and trained with our internal guidance. It’s helped the wider business self-serve on common issues, and freed us up to focus on more strategic matters."

At Palantir Technologies, Commercial Legal Lead Laura Dietschy is taking things further with retrieval-augmented generation:

"The core bit of our approach is integrating the model with the organisation's information systems."

By embedding AI into internal data, Palantir’s legal team is building bespoke solutions tailored to real business needs - not just experimenting, but transforming.

The future of lean legal teams

What does this mean for the future of in-house legal?

It means:

• Fewer but more empowered people

• Creativity, not just caution

• Technology as a necessity, not a luxury

Smarter scaling requires:

• Leadership buy-in

• A culture of experimentation

• A willingness to rethink “how we’ve always done it”

The result? Faster delivery, stronger business alignment, and a legal team that punches above its weight.

Headcount may be stalling, but ambition isn’t.
The in-house legal teams that thrive in 2025 won’t be the biggest - they’ll be the smartest.

Frequently asked questions

Q: How can in-house legal teams stay effective without hiring more people?
A: By investing in legal tech, streamlining workflows, and shifting from a reactive to proactive mindset.

Q: What technologies are legal teams using to scale?
A: Automation platforms, generative AI, retrieval-augmented generation, and legal chatbots.

Q: What are the most important skills for in-house legal leaders in 2025?
A: Agility, communication, commercial awareness, and creative problem-solving.

Further reading from ��˾����ҹ���� UK

• Future of Legal blog series

• Lexis+ UK legal technology solutions

• Legal Operations hub

• Practical Guidance for In-House Lawyers