BigLaw Faces Performance Challenges From Rising AI Expenses, Survey Finds

August 11, 2026, 9:34 am CDT Am Law 100 law firms have said they’re spending more on artificial intelligence and innovation investments than on any other expense category. (Photo illustration by Sara Wadford/ABA Journal/Shutterstock) Am Law 100 law firms have said they’re spending more on artificial intelligence and innovation investments than on any other expense category. According to new survey results from Law.com , nearly 70% of Am Law 100 firm survey respondents reported that AI and innovation investments increased more than 5% through the second quarter of the year. More than a quarter of respondents anticipate these expenses to increase by more than 15% by the end of the year. “AI is the big overhang,” Gregg Eisenberg, a managing partner at Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff, told Law.com. “You need to continue to invest in your business and technology to keep up and provide efficiencies to your clients.” Am Law 100 firms expect increasing AI investments to affect their performance heading into 2027, Law.com reports. More than 90% of respondents predict that revenue will increase more than 5% this year, while 77% predict that profitability will increase by a similar number. But 50% of respondents also said increasing costs, which includes attorney compensation, real estate prices and overhead, were their biggest concern. Mark Medice, a principal at LawVision, told Law.com that a steep escalation in billing rates is due in part to firms’ need to fund the cost of adopting AI. But he also told Law.com that firms should expect “much greater scrutiny” of their use of AI by clients. “Many clients will be able to deploy and exploit AI as well as or better than their law firm,” Medice said. “If that really comes to fruition, one could argue or surmise they may not accept rate increases that are founded upon AI.” The majority of Am Law 100 firms report that so far this year, they have seen “no change in client pushback” on rate increases, Law.com reports.