Corporate law departments have long been perceived as “cost centers,” but generative AI may be an opportunity to change that. A new industry report shows that the new technology – which is being adopted by legal professionals at a rapid pace – can help teams make a stronger case as true strategic partners to their organizations.

To make inroads, however, legal professionals will need to invest in measuring the right type of performance. 

The report from Everlaw and the Association of Corporate Counsel, The Role of GenAI in Proving Corporate Law Department Value, highlights a fundamental gap in how teams measure and report their true business impact. Based on survey responses from 284 CLOs, GCs, and legal ops leaders, the report shows that most in-house legal teams track cost-based metrics, such as total outside counsel spend, but few capture the metrics that tie their value to outcomes. This puts them at a disadvantage when it comes to showing their contributions to what the C-suite cares most about: risk mitigation, business speed, and growth.

The report also reveals an urgency to act. Nearly all respondents believe GenAI can help them narrow this “metrics gap,” and nearly 7 in 10 plan to prioritize AI for value tracking in the next three to five years.

Leveraging GenAI to Prove Value

In-house legal leaders see GenAI as a tool to help them tell a better strategic story. Only 4% of respondents doubt the technology’s potential to help them better demonstrate their value to the business. Four in 10 say it will, while nearly 6 in 10 say it can.

That confidence is grounded in benefits many are already seeing. Today, legal teams say the biggest payoff is speed: 81% expect GenAI to accelerate legal support and matter resolution. 

A large majority (76%) also says that GenAI will reshape how their teams work, with a positive impact on internal efficiency and resourcing. In line with that belief, many are already using GenAI to simplify workflows, free up staff time, and handle routine work more effectively. The most common tasks legal departments expect to handle more cost effectively in-house with the help of GenAI include drafting, contract management, legal research — and also some aspects of M&A and litigation work.

The benefits extend to how legal teams manage outside counsel. Many say GenAI will help them identify cost-saving opportunities on outside counsel services (43%), improve analysis of law firm billing patterns (42%), and better forecast budgets (36%).

But to show their true business value, teams need to do more than work faster and control costs. The next evolution lies in the ability to track outcomes-focused metrics.

Overcoming the Metrics Gap

The report shows that many teams, particularly at smaller organizations, are still largely tracking cost-focused indicators. In part, that's in line with traditional C-suite expectations. The vast majority track foundational cost metrics like outside counsel spend (83%) and billing rates (54%). In litigation, 72% say they report on indicators like total matter spend.

These numbers support fiscal oversight — and satisfy corporate pressure to keep costs down — but they don’t paint a full picture about value.

What's missing: widespread adoption of the metrics that demonstrate true business value.

For example, only 12% track metrics to assess outside counsel performance, the same tiny percentage measures technology ROI, and just 9% track their impact on business outcomes.

When it comes to litigation matters, a significant source of risk and cost for many organizations, only 39% measure forecast vs. actual litigation spend and still fewer track outcomes relative to cost (16%).

Then there is the 18% of departments that say they don't track litigation metrics, and the 13% that aren’t tracking any metrics at all.

This reporting gap undermines in-house teams' ability to demonstrate strategic value. Even the most sophisticated GenAI tools can’t compensate for missing historical data or inconsistent performance tracking — two essentials for proving impact to the CEO.

Moving Beyond Cost Control to Delivering Business Value

The survey indicates a shift is underway. Legal teams are beginning to test more advanced applications for GenAI. New data-based use cases being explored include surfacing insights across large matters, projecting litigation outcomes, detecting fraud, and comparing performance across law firms.

Some teams are even using GenAI to develop new services for their internal clients, such as custom GPTs for procurement playbooks and AI companions for high-volume, low-impact matters. This is another facet of GenAI for value creation.

Early progress aside, real barriers still exist. Legal professionals cite tight budgets, concerns about data security, and the need for training as obstacles to adoption.

Despite all that, legal leaders are signaling urgency: nearly 70% say adopting GenAI for tracking and reporting will be a top priority within the next three to five years.

Reimagining What It Means to Show Value

The findings point to a profession in transition, as legal departments work to redefine themselves as strategic contributors, not just cost centers.

With GenAI, in-house teams have a real opportunity to become data-driven advisers who influence business outcomes. Most believe the technology can help them demonstrate value — but only if they move beyond efficiency gains and embrace metrics tied to risk reduction, speed, and strategic insight. 

Getting there won't be effortless. It will require strategic technology investment, strong data governance, and new skills in AI-driven analysis. These steps will help legal teams shift from experimenting with GenAI to reliably measuring performance and demonstrating impact across the business.

Closing the gap is now more achievable — and more urgent — than ever.

Petra Pasternak is a writer and editor focused on the ways that technology makes the work of legal professionals better and more productive. Before Everlaw, Petra covered the business of law as a reporter for ALM and worked for two Am Law 100 firms.