London, Monday 09 February 2026: Juro, the intelligent contracting platform, has released data from its ‘State of In-house 2026’ report, suggesting that law firms are sitting on a "time bomb" as in-house teams prepare to reclaim work through AI solutions.
Juro interviewed more than 130 senior lawyers across Europe and the US, with the majority having CLO, GC or Head of Legal titles.
When asked if they could cut outside counsel spend in half and still manage risk effectively, 44% of respondents were ‘somewhat confident’ or ‘very confident’ that this would work.
When asked how much of the work currently sent out to law firms could be insourced using AI, 68% said more than 10%. 20% said more than 25%. If anything close to this level of insourcing comes to pass, law firms are facing a huge gap in their billable hours.
Juro’s survey also found that in-house lawyers expect that where law firms work faster due to AI, they should pass those savings onto their clients. However, most in-house lawyers do not know whether or not their firms are actually using AI.
Among those who do, 73% believe the law firm is keeping all or most of the savings made by using the technology. Meanwhile, fees are generally going up - not down.
To explore the full findings and analysis, including insights on stress & burnout, AI adoption and more, read the full report.
Richard Mabey, CEO and co-founder of Juro, said:
This is a wake-up call for Big Law. You can’t charge premium rates for work that AI now handles in seconds, and not expect clients to vote with their feet. With 68% of in-house teams planning to claw back work for themselves, firms stuck in the billable hour paradigm are on borrowed time.
Tom Bangay is the Senior Director of Content & Community at Juro, bringing over 15 years of experience in legal content strategy and community building. With a BA in Law and European Law from the University of Nottingham and an MA in Human Values and Contemporary Global Ethics from King’s College London, Tom has built a career around supporting and engaging the legal sector. Since joining Juro in 2018, Tom has developed and led content initiatives that highlight the transformative power of Juro’s contract automation platform for legal teams, building a trusted community of over 1,000 lawyers from high-growth companies worldwide.
Tom’s background includes a wealth of editorial roles with a focus on legal content. He was Deputy Editor at Chambers & Partners, and then Managing Editor at the International Bar Association, where he covered global legal issues and trends in a range of publications and multimedia. He then initiated and managed Thomson Reuters Legal’s thought leadership programme, overseeing strategic content at the home of Westlaw and Practical Law.
Tom’s leadership in content and community at Juro is rooted in his deep understanding of the legal profession, which enables him to connect with in-house legal teams on issues that matter most.
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