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

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.

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.

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.

• 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.