Had a coffee with a GC friend last week.
Had a coffee with a GC friend last week.
We got into it on AI and the billable hour.
Here's my takeaway:
If you think AI should make legal cheaper across the board, you’re probably confusing efficiency with value.
AI means a strong lawyer can now do in two hours what used to take ten.
That doesn’t make the work less valuable. It means lawyers can spend their best hours on the hardest problems.
What GCs really want is judgment that supports outcomes. The ability to assess risk, spot issues early, and propose practical, business-aligned solutions.
AI handles the groundwork so the best lawyers can focus on pressure-testing assumptions, getting creative, and moving the business forward.
When more of the work is focused on what actually drives outcomes, the work itself becomes more valuable.
Clients don’t care how long something took. They’re paying for safe passage from Point A to Point B.
That hasn’t changed.
That’s why top-end rates could rise.
Not despite AI. Because of it.