Michael Conklin (Texas A&M University School of Law) and Casey Rockwell (University of Arkansas at Little Rock) have posted Generative AI and the Transformation of Legal Services: An Empirical Study of Client Adoption, forthcoming in 60 University of Illinois Chicago Law Review (2026), on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Highly regulated sectors, such as legal services and securities, are undergoing changes driven by generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) advancements. While professionals providing legal services can leverage GenAI to improve efficiency and productivity, AI agents present opportunities for clients to overcome obstacles associated with full-service legal support by offering more affordable and accessible unbundled legal services, including preparing initial legal documents or conducting research on legal matters. Drawing on Rational Choice Theory (RCT) and Diffusion of Innovation Theory (DOI), the current study explores the determinants that trigger clients to adopt AI agents for drafting legal documents, such as wills. SmartPLS was used to analyze a crowdsourced survey with 284 respondents. The findings reveal the positive direct effect of outcome quality, relative time advantage, and compatibility on individuals’ intention to use AI agents for legal services, whereas privacy concerns and the need for human contact are not significant barriers to adoption. Furthermore, the study highlights that the impact of relative cost advantage is fully mediated through outcome quality, demonstrating that at a satisfactory level of outcome quality, cost reduction stemming from removing intermediaries drives the intention to adopt AI agents.
Recommended.
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