The legal AI maturity mountain

Gaining clarity on where you stand currently is a key first step for any AI journey.

Our strategic framework categorises legal teams into four distinct stages of AI adoption, moving from basic curiosity to AI-native workflows. Find your basecamp before charting the path forward.

Level 1

The day-tripper

Curiosity-driven teams using personal LLM accounts for basic tasks like summarising emails. AI use is ad-hoc, unsanctioned, and largely invisible to leadership. Manual, repetitive work still dominates despite basic AI access.

Level 2

The hiker

Practical teams using general tools like Copilot to draft clauses and share prompts. There is informal adoption across the team, but no structured approach. The efficiency gap remains - still heavily reliant on manual work.

Level 3

The mountaineer

Precision-focused teams using legal-specific tools like Harvey to automate digital playbooks. AI is a structured part of daily workflows. Advanced stages see significant reductions in time-to-first-draft.

Level 4

The explorer

Innovation-led teams building custom agentic workflows and adopting AI-first hiring strategies. Autonomous agents manage entire processes. Departments are being rethought and restructured around AI capabilities.

Once you’ve located your position, the next step is deciding how far you want to go. Whether you’re looking to climb a few rungs or accelerate to the next level, the Applied AI team at Simmons is ready to help you navigate the road ahead.