Ashurst cuts legal task time up to 80% in global…

Ashurst cuts legal task time up to 80% in global generative AI trial across 23 offices

Curated & reviewed by Peter Korpak, Founder & Chief Analyst, 100SignalsHow we verify

80% reductionArticles of Association Review Time

60% reductionCompany Research Report Time

45% reductionClient Briefing Creation Time

Vendor-reported figures — source: www.afr.com

Ashurst

Metric	Before	After	Impact
Articles of Association Review Time	Baseline	80% less time	80% reduction
Company Research Report Time	Baseline	60% less time	60% reduction
Client Briefing Creation Time	Baseline	55% less time	45% reduction

The Challenge

Ashurst lawyers were spending significant time on routine legal tasks such as reviewing articles of association, producing company research reports, and creating client briefings. The firm sought to understand whether generative AI could meaningfully accelerate these workflows at scale across a global workforce.

The Solution

Ashurst ran a months-long trial of generative AI tools with 411 staff across 23 offices in 15 countries, applying the technology to everyday legal tasks including document review, company research, and client briefing preparation.

Results

The trial showed time savings of 80% on reviewing articles of association, 60% on company research reports, and 45% on creating client briefings. Human judgment was still found to be superior in certain areas, underscoring that AI augments rather than replaces lawyer expertise.

Key Takeaways

Large-scale pilots (400+ staff, multi-country) are feasible and produce meaningful productivity data across diverse legal task types.
Time savings vary significantly by task type — document review tasks benefit more than judgment-intensive work.
Human oversight remains essential; AI acceleration does not eliminate the need for lawyer review and decision-making.

Ashurst