In our new feature segment, "Inside the Shift", we will leverage our expert analysis and supporting data to more fully tell some of the most compelling stories in the legal, tax, accounting, corporate, and government areas
You can read TRI’s first “Inside the Shift” feature, The 4 scenarios: Which law firm business model are you building? here
If you’re running a law firm right now, you’ve probably felt it — the ground is shifting fast. AI isn’t some future consideration; indeed, it’s already shaping how clients choose their firms, how work gets done, and which business models are built to last.
To examine this situation — and many more in the future — more deeply, the Thomson Reuters Institute (TRI) has begun publishing a new feature segment, Inside the Shift, that will allow our expert analysis and supporting data to more fully tell some of the most important stories in the legal, tax, accounting, corporate, and government areas.
Our first Inside the Shift feature, The 4 scenarios: Which law firm business model are you building? by Elizabeth Duffy, TRI’s Senior Director of Client Engagement and Raghu Ramanathan, President of Thomson Reuters Legal Professional business, cuts through much of the noise around AI adoption in the legal industry. The piece lays out a clear, uncomfortable truth: in the age of AI, strategic clarity isn’t optional — it’s survival.
For years, many law firms have tried to hedge their bets. A little bespoke work here, a little efficiency there. Premium pricing mixed with cost pressure. The result? A mushy middle that feels safe but is actually the most dangerous place to be. As the feature makes clear: Law firms without a distinct position — neither elite, automated, scaled, nor protected by regulation — are the ones most exposed to existential risk.
And here’s the kicker that the authors point out: Clients aren’t waiting for firms to catch up.
Corporate legal departments are already evaluating firms based on their AI maturity — how effectively they use technology to deliver speed, consistency, and quality. This is happening even as many clients are still figuring out their own AI strategies. In other words, law firms are being judged by their clients right now, whether they’re ready or not.
Client pressure is building faster than internal capabilities can keep pace.
Even corporate legal departments new to AI are asking pointed questions of outside counsel.
The authors don’t argue that there’s one correct model. Instead, the piece lays out four distinct scenarios that law firm leaders can choose from, making the case that choosing something deliberately is far better than drifting. Of course, each scenario demands different investments in talent, technology, pricing, and client engagement. What they all share, however, is intention.
That’s what makes this piece — and future Inside the Shift features — so valuable. It’s not full of hype, and it’s not fear‑mongering. Rather it’s offering a strategic framework for leaders who know that AI is reshaping professional service markets but are still wrestling with what that actually means for their organization.
If you’re a managing partner, innovation leader, or industry watcher who’s tired of vague predictions and wants a clearer map of what’s ahead, the Inside the Shift features will be well worth your time. The questions they will raise — about positioning, differentiation, and the cost of standing still — aren’t comfortable, but they’re exactly the questions firms need to be asking now.
So don’t just skim the headlines about AI in law. Click through and read today’s Inside the Shift feature. It might help you see, more clearly than before, which business model you’re actually building in your law firm — and whether it’s the one that will be able to carry your firm into the next decade.
You can find more Inside the Shift feature articles from the Thomson Reuters Institute here
