• Analysis
More Than Half of Victorian Lawyers Now Use AI, but Fewer Pass Savings to Clients
AI use among Victorian lawyers rose from 37% to 55% in one year, according to a 2026 census of 2,221 practitioners by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner's research centre - yet only 26% said AI had lowered client fees.
Adoption up, fees largely unchanged
Victorian lawyers have adopted AI at a striking pace: a 2026 census of 2,221 practitioners by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner's legal services research centre found use rising from 37% to 55% in a single year. But the survey suggests clients are mostly not feeling the benefit in their invoices - just 26% of lawyers responding said their use of AI had resulted in lower client fees.
The savings picture splits by client type:
- •Reduced fees were more likely to be reported by those working for business clients (34%) than those serving individual fee-paying clients (23%)
- •18% said AI enabled them to take on work that would have previously been uneconomical
Who cuts prices, and why
Dr Georgie Rychner, the census's principal researcher and a co-author of the report, tied the reductions in corporate and big firms to the fact that clients in those settings are repeat users of legal services. She said these clients' own AI experience changes the negotiating dynamic.
"They also are perhaps using AI in their own work, so they have a better understanding and are able to advocate for lower prices"
She contrasted this with the community legal sector, where such client capability is less common.
Client AI use adds work
The census also points to why efficiency gains from AI have been smaller than expected. Rychner noted that 89% of practitioners in 2025 said they had taken steps to verify the accuracy of AI output.
Client-side AI brings its own costs:
- •46% of lawyers reported clients arriving with inaccurate or misleading information sourced from AI
- •41% presented AI-generated documents that needed correcting
- •Nearly half said there was an increase in time and effort required if their clients used AI, against 19% who reported a decrease
Rychner said clients are more frequently arriving with misleading or inaccurate information about their legal problems than arriving with a better understanding, and that more research on client perspectives is needed.
Where and how lawyers use AI
Adoption varies sharply by practice area:
- •Highest: trade practices (85%), banking and finance (78%), IT and telecommunications (78%)
- •Lowest: criminal law (29%), family law (45%), administrative law (46%)
On tools, 79% of lawyers reported using consumer chatbots such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot, while 22% used legal-specific tools alone. The age gap has also shifted: in 2025 use was highest among lawyers under 30, but in 2026 that disparity had largely disappeared, though usage remained low for those aged 60 and over.
Courts and legal bodies across Australia have been grappling with the rise in AI use among lawyers and the public since 2023. A Victorian lawyer last year became the first in the country to face sanctions for false citations, losing his ability to practise as a principal lawyer, and regulators in Western Australia and New South Wales launched similar investigations. The Federal Court in April issued new rules around using generative AI.
High Court Chief Justice Stephen Gageler said last year that AI-generated content in legal cases had reached an "unsustainable phase".
