ACEDS logo
The 2026 AI Report from Secretariat and ACEDS examines how AI is reshaping the legal sector, covering adoption, workflows, governance, risks, and potential opportunities.
ATLANTA, GA, UNITED STATES, July 23, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — The 2026 Artificial Intelligence Report, produced by Secretariat in partnership with ACEDS, shows that AI has achieved near-universal adoption throughout the legal field. The discussion has shifted from whether AI is employed to which specific AI tools are in use, how they are woven into routine legal operations, and what risks must be managed to maintain accuracy, defensibility, and compliance with professional and ethical standards.
Now in Secretariat’s second year of conducting this survey with ACEDS, the findings depict an industry moving quickly from experimental phases to full operational integration. Generative AI has become an increasingly routine element of legal work, with respondents noting expanded usage in document drafting, legal research, web searches, document review, document summarization, eDiscovery, and other fundamental legal tasks.
Major takeaways from the report include:
– 91% of respondents used Generative AI during the last year, indicating a significant transition from trial to daily application
– Data privacy and confidentiality persist as the primary obstacle to AI adoption (57%), while concerns about hallucinations have climbed sharply (46%) to become the second-largest barrier, surpassing cost (40%)
– 64% of respondents anticipate their organization’s AI spending will rise in the coming 12 months, signaling ongoing momentum in implementation and usage
The report also highlights that faster adoption brings both benefits and hazards. While organizations achieve improvements in speed and efficiency, they are also confronting escalating issues related to privacy, confidentiality, trust, and defensibility.
Secretariat Managing Director Richard Finkelman comments, “We are witnessing a clear uptick in the use of commercial GenAI tools within conventional eDiscovery workflows, with these technologies now actively deployed across core discovery processes. At the same time, recent legal cases are highlighting the risks more prominently, especially regarding hallucinations and data privacy. Expert discovery represents the next frontier, and while adoption is still in its infancy, we anticipate a swift move toward broader mainstream use within the next year.”
“AI has evolved from a future-focused topic into an everyday reality for legal teams. What our legal community now seeks is not excitement, but practical direction: which tools are being utilized, where they belong in workflows, and how to implement them responsibly without sacrificing confidentiality, accuracy, or defensibility,” said Maribel Rivera, VP of Strategy and Client Engagement at ACEDS. “This report underscores that education and governance must keep pace with adoption. As GenAI becomes integrated into document drafting, review, research, and emerging expert discovery processes, legal professionals must develop the skills to pose better questions, verify outputs, and ensure human oversight remains central to every step.”
The 2026 Secretariat and ACEDS Artificial Intelligence Report delivers essential insights for legal professionals and organizations aiming to remain ahead of AI developments and directly address the challenges of AI adoption.
Click here to download a copy of the report.
About Secretariat — Secretariat is a global disputes and forensic advisory firm relied upon in critical legal, risk, and regulatory matters worldwide. With more than 700 in the world’s key financial and arbitration centers, we offer diverse expertise assisting clients with high-stakes, complex business and legal challenges, including disputes; delay and quantum analysis; international arbitration and litigation; economic damages; engineering; valuations; forensic accounting; government contracting; investigations; and economic analysis, analytics, and strategy. Discover more about our team and capabilities at https://secretariat-intl.com/.
Secretariat Media Contact: Nathan Jenks T:+1 312 395 7307 E:njenks@secretariat-intl.com
About ACEDS — The Association of Certified E-Discovery Specialists (ACEDS), a division of leading legal education provider BARBRI Global, stands as the world’s premier organization for training and certification in e-discovery, information governance, and related fields. ACEDS delivers training to corporate legal departments, law firms, government entities, service providers, and academic institutions. Our flagship CEDS certification is globally recognized and used to validate skills and proficiency in electronic discovery for organizations and individuals through training, certification, and ongoing education. The CEDS credential is held by practitioners at top Fortune 500 companies, Am Law 200 firms, and government agencies. ACEDS maintains 30 chapters across most major U.S. cities, Canada, the UK, Ireland, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Australia. Our aim is to assist professionals and organizations in reducing the costs and risks associated with e-discovery while enhancing and verifying their skills, advancing their careers, and improving overall technology competence in e-discovery and related disciplines. Learn more at www.aceds.org.
ACEDS Media Contact: Katie Saylor T: 913.219.4444 E:ksaylor@aceds.org
About BARBRI — BARBRI is the global frontrunner in technology-driven legal education, holding leading positions in the US and the UK. Committed to delivering unmatched innovation and excellence in legal education, BARBRI provides outstanding success for learners by offering the most trusted and industry-leading products under one unified experience across every stage of the legal learner’s journey. Building on the foundation of its core bar courses, which have assisted over 1.5 million lawyers worldwide in passing a U.S. bar exam, BARBRI offers a comprehensive array of learning solutions for higher education institutions and law-related businesses, empowering every step of the legal learning path. Founded in 1967, BARBRI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices across the United States and around the world.
Nathan Jenks
Secretariat Advisors LLC
+1 312-395-7307
email us here
