Transforming Legal Service Delivery in Asia-Pacific with AI: What In-House Counsel Need to Know from ALITA’s SOLIA Report 2025
BRIAN W TANG
The Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation & Technology Association (ALITA) State of Legal Innovation in Asia-Pacific (SOLIA) Report 2025 that contains a survey conducted by ALITA in conjunction with LexisNexis arrives at a moment when legal teams across the Asia Pacific region are feeling both the pace and pressure of transformation. As the findings make clear, AI is no longer an optional experiment. It has become part of the daily toolkit for many professionals, especially within in house teams that continue to carry rising expectations from business leaders.
The expanding role of AI in daily work
According to the ALITA SOLIA Report 2025, almost 90 percent of legal professionals surveyed say they are already using AI tools in some form. In house lawyers report even higher adoption, with nearly half using general purpose AI every day. The uses span the predictable but essential tasks. Drafting internal messages. Summarising long documents. Conducting quick research. Translating material across the region’s multiple languages.
Despite this broad usage, many organisations still lack clear AI policies. That gap is noticeable because it shifts the responsibility onto individual lawyers who must decide be processed, and how output should be reviewed. The report suggests that responsible digital lawyering will need a more structured foundation than what currently exists.
Where AI makes the biggest difference
The benefits cited by respondents feel consistent with what many in house counsel report in practice. Time is saved on low value tasks. Operations move faster. Stakeholders receive clearer answers with quicker turnaround. For many, these efficiencies translate into an ability to keep pace with the business rather than constantly reacting to it.
“AI is no longer a distant concept. It has become woven into the daily workflow of the region’s legal teams.”
At the same time, accuracy and hallucination risks remain the biggest concerns. The fear that reviewing an unreliable output will take as much time as completing the task manually is widely shared. Confidentiality and data security concerns follow close behind. Ethical questions also loom large, particularly around bias and the way AI may reshape junior roles across the profession.
How teams and expectations are evolving
One of the most striking findings relates to the future shape of legal departments. Many respondents expect technology skills to become far more important. Some foresee increased budgets for tools and platforms. Others anticipate adding more non legal roles such as operations and data professionals. At the same time, some departments may shrink as technology absorbs certain repeatable workstreams.
This connects directly with how legal department clients evaluate legal services. Across the region, the highest valued attributes include cost effectiveness, specialist expertise, responsiveness and the ability to provide tailored solutions. Very few legal department clients focus on whether a lawyer is using advanced tools. They care about outcomes, clarity and efficiency.
Rethinking legal training for the AI era
The ALITA SOLIA Report 2025 also looks ahead to the next generation of lawyers. Only a small minority of respondents believe that traditional legal education models should continue unchanged. Most support the integration of AI literacy, practical technology skills and interdisciplinary learning. The region is already seeing experimentation at universities that use AI platforms to simulate legal analysis, client interactions and advanced advisory scenarios.
The view reflected across the Report is that AI will not replace lawyers. Instead, it will amplify the capability of those who learn to engage with it responsibly. The future landscape will demand coordination among law firms, in house teams, regulators, educators and technology providers. Each has a role in shaping a profession that modernises while preserving the trust that underpins legal work.
“Clients are not asking what tools are used. They are asking for faster, clearer and more strategic outcomes.”
As the Report concludes, the coming years will reward legal professionals who actively embrace these tools with care and discipline. For in house counsel in particular, this moment offers the opportunity to lead internal policy conversations, revisit collaboration models with external counsel, and position the legal team as a more strategic partner within the wider organisation.
Brian W Tang
ALITA SOLIA Report 2025 Chief Editor and ALITA Co-chair
University of Hong Kong Law, Innovation,
Technology & Entrepreneurship Lab
Founding executive director
