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Firm Performance
In her latest article, SurePoint's Olivia Mockel highlights how law firms are leading transformation today by embracing innovation, agility, and new measures of success.
By Olivia Mockel, Cheif Brand & Market Strategy Officer, SurePoint Technologies
Part of SurePoint's Beyond Practice Management: The Future of Firm Performance series
In her last article, Profitability in the Age of AI, Olivia Mockel explored how automation and alternative fee models are reshaping the financial foundation of law firms. Building on that perspective, this next installment turns the focus to the firms leading transformation today—those redefining success not through tradition, but through innovation, agility, and strategic reinvention.
2025 research from Ari Kaplan Advisors developed in collaboration with SurePoint Technologies, Affinity Consulting, and iManage reveals that 97% of mid-sized law firm leaders are actively preparing for the future, and 68% believe AI will fundamentally reshape how legal work is done. The report captures how mid-market leaders are balancing optimism and caution equally.
The legal industry is experiencing a profound shift. Where success was once anchored in precedent and prestige, today’s top firms are embracing change as a competitive advantage. They’re moving beyond billable hours and rigid hierarchies to build cultures of experimentation, client alignment, and operational resilience.
Among mid-sized firms, leaders describe a balance of optimism and caution: modernization is viewed as essential to attracting and retaining talent, with careful prioritization of technology investments to protect margins and maintain momentum.
Technology as a Competitive Differentiator
Artificial intelligence (AI) has moved from novelty to necessity for forward-thinking law firms. Global leaders such as Allen & Overy (Shearman), Baker McKenzie, Dentons, White & Case, and Norton Rose Fulbright alongside U.S. innovators like DLA Piper, Ropes & Gray, Sidley Austin, Gibson Dunn, and Morgan Lewis are publicly testing and deploying AI across document review, compliance, and research. Each is approaching adoption deliberatelycombining rigorous testing, proactive attorney training, and strong data protection to ensure that technology enhances—not diminishes— efficiency, and client outcomes.
Mid-sized firms are on this path as well. Whiteford Taylor & Preston recently expanded its Harvey AI pilot firmwide to support litigation and regulatory teams. Fennemore, Husch Blackwell, and Bradley join a growing list of mid-sized firms integrating AI and analytics into day-to-day workflows to streamline matter management, strengthen client transparency, and enhance value delivery. For many firms, the differentiator is not simply efficiency but how they reinvest that time into higher-value client service and innovation.
Broader industry research echoes this acceleration. According to the American Bar Association’s most recent Legal Industry Report: Individual use of generative AI among lawyers at rose from 4% in the past year. Larger firms—those with more than 50 attorneys—report adoption nearing 40 percent, compared with 20 percent among smaller firms. The impact is measurable. Thomson Reuters’ Future of Professionals Report (2024) found that legal professionals using generative AI save five hours per week. That translates into about $100,000 in potential revenue for lawyers.
Technology alone doesn’t drive transformation—people do. Within firms across the United States, internal innovators, often described as intrapreneurs, are reshaping law firm operations from the inside out. These professionals aren’t waiting for permission from the top. They are identifying inefficiencies, testing new tools, and leading the charge to modernize workflows in ways that directly support client service and firm profitability.
In his discussions with law firm leaders, Ari Kaplan found that “enabling innovation from within” ranked among the top three drivers of firm performance in 2025. Many firms are embracing this mindset by encouraging cross-functional collaboration between attorneys, finance, IT, and marketing. Nearly half of the firms in report have restructured their knowledge management systems to provide cleaner data for AI, and 42% have redesigned training programs to build digital fluency and strengthen use cases.
As one law firm COO noted, “The ideas that stick are the ones that come from the people doing the work every day.”
Their success underscores a larger truth: transformation in law firms isn’t just a technology project. It’s a people project. Firms that reward experimentation, empower internal leaders, and connect innovation to measurable outcomes are the ones building cultures of continuous improvement and long-term resilience.
As these intrapreneurs drive operational change from within, law firm leaders are simultaneously rethinking how their business models support sustained growth. Questions once confined to management committees—about pricing, structure, and investments—are now part of broader firmwide conversations. This shift reflects a new era of transparency and strategic alignment.
Business Model Reinvention and Outside Capital
Transformation isn’t limited to operations—it is reshaping how firms fund growth. Outside capital is entering the legal market, disrupting traditional partnership structures and introducing new governance models.
Across the industry, law firm leaders are also re-examining pricing strategies, experimenting with fixed-fee or retainer arrangements for AI-enabled work to balance efficiency, transparency, and value.
This shift creates opportunities to invest in technology, marketing, and talent development. But it also raises questions about independence, identity, and long-term strategy. The firms that succeed will be those that balance innovation with integrity—redefining value beyond profitability alone.
Financial realities are shaping transformation as well. According to a Wells Fargo legal industry survey, in the first half of 2025, top U.S. law firms raised billing rates by 9.2% and saw an 11.3% increase in revenue. Profits per equity partner rose by 13.7%. However, expenses increased almost as quickly, with compensation and technology investments rising by 9-10%.
This data underscores a critical balancing act. Firms must invest in innovation to remain competitive, but they must also preserve margins in a market where costs can quickly outpace gains. The solution isn’t to cut back—it’s to invest smarter. Firms that align their spending with strategic priorities—particularly in technology and talent—are building sustainable growth engines.
This transformation isn’t limited to the U.S. market. Around the world, leading firms are rethinking governance, succession planning, and AI strategy to stay ahead of rising client expectations.
Rather than simply adopting new tools, global firms such as Allen & Overy (Shearman), Baker McKenzie, and Dentons are creating global innovation hubs, cross-office task forces, and shared data frameworks that connect lawyers, clients, and business teams across continents. Their approach turns technology into an enterprise capability rathern than a series of isolated pilots.
This global mindset is reshaping expectations everywhere as U.S. firms are drawing inspiration to improve collaboration, transparency, and knowledge sharing across offices and practice areas. Whether through dedicated innovation teams, firmwide AI committes, or strategic partnerships, the lesson is the same: innovation succeeds when it is embedded in governance and culture, not bolted onto operations.
For mid-sized firms, this global shift reinforces the value of scalability and integration which can help smaller organizations compete with agility on a larger stage.
Legal leaders are evolving, too. General counsel and in-house legal teams are moving from risk management to strategic advisory roles—shaping AI adoption, scenario planning, and cross-functional collaboration.
For law firms, this shift underscores the importance of serving clients not just with legal expertise, but with forward-looking strategies that anticipate change and create value. As clients demand more transparency, data-driven insights, and proactive guidance, firms that position their partners and practice leaders as strategic allies, not just service providers, will set themselves apart.
Success in law firms is no longer defined by revenue alone. Forward-thinking firms are prioritizing agility, culture, and creativity. They’re measuring progress by talent retention, client alignment, and long-term resilience.
Innovation rankings, performance dashboards, and client-satisfaction metrics are replacing prestige as the benchmark for success. Firms are using data to deliver faster, more tailored service—and to demonstrate value in ways clients can see and measure.
Modern success isn’t about who bills the most. It’s about who adapts the fastest.
For mid-sized firms, the mindset levels the playing field. With the right systems and visibility, even leaner teams can compete on sophistication and service.
Together, these trends reflect a new understanding of what it means to thrive in the legal profession. Today, success is measured by:
Transformation in action is no longer optional for law firms. It’s the catalyst for growth and the true measure of long-term success in the legal sector.
Next in the Series: In our next article, Private Equity and the Business of Law: What Investors See—and What It Means for Your Firm, Eric Thurston, SurePoint President & CEO, explores how PE is reshaping the legal industry—and what law firm leaders must do now to prepare for a future defined by scale, efficiency, and strategic growth.
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