A rising number of clients indicated that they would look up lawyers online
A significant percentage of legal clients have either asked or would consider directing legal questions to artificial intelligence, according to the 2025 "Legal Trends Report" published by Clio.
The report found that among those who asked AI legal questions, 28 percent were told to contact a lawyer. This generates a direct link between professional services and AI use per Clio. A rising number of clients also indicated they intended to find their next lawyers online, highlighting the growing value of a digital presence and client-facing technology.
Firms that broadly adopted AI were about three times as likely to report a revenue increase as those that did not. Among the firms that reported AI-driven revenue growth, 77 percent said they enhanced operations like document generation, workflow automation, and client communication.
“Firms stuck in old habits will stall, while those betting on AI and client-first innovation will define the next era. The age of billable hours and hiring sprees is fading. The firms that thrive will be the ones building sustainable, technology-driven practices,” said Jack Newton, Clio’s CEO and founder, in a statement.
The report indicated that growing firms are twice as likely as stable and shrinking firms to leverage automation.
AI’s effect on lawyers
Clio also teamed up with neuroanalytics company Neuro-Insight to conduct what it said was an “industry-first neurological study of legal professionals.” Sixty-three legal professionals were asked to do time work tasks involving client intake, matter creation, reporting, and document summarization; the control group used spreadsheets and PDF documents, while the other group used Clio.
Electrical brain activity was then measured, with total cognitive load being determined through neurological indicators like emotional strain, active mental focus, and memory demand. The report revealed that overall cognitive load plummeted by 25 percent among the Clio group. Moreover, emotional strain declined by 16 percent during client intake tasks.
Those who used Clio AI to review documents saw memory demand fall by 11 percent. Those who used Clio’s AI Active focus function were twice as likely to respond accurately.
“We are seeing clear evidence that when lawyers use the right tools, they experience lower cognitive strain, higher accuracy, and stronger engagement in their work. These are meaningful gains that point to a more sustainable and rewarding future for legal professionals everywhere,” said Joshua Lenon, Clio’s lawyer in residence.
The 2025 "Legal Trends Report" is the 10th edition of this report. Last week at its annual ClioCon conference, Clio also announced the rollout of its Intelligent Legal Work Platform, which incorporates vLex’s legal research library into Clio along with Vincent AI. It also debuted the new division Clio for Enterprise, which focuses on solutions tailored towards large law firms and corporate legal departments; the suite includes Vincent by Clio, Clio Library, and Clio Docket.
