Vendor dataSmallUSA
75%
of US small law firms use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report
Vendor dataUpdated 23 Oct 2026
71%of US solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report
71% of US solo practitioners and 75% of small law firms use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's Legal Trends for Solo and Small Law Firms report released on 4 May 2026. It is a vendor survey. The same report finds most of these firms have not changed their pricing: 86% of solo firms made no pricing changes.
Vendor dataChecked at source, 23 Oct 2026SmallUSALaw firm marketing · AI adoption
Law firms that made no pricing changes for AI, by firm size
| Group | No pricing changes |
|---|---|
| Solo firms | 86% |
| Small firms | 78% |
| Mid-market firms | 51% |
| Enterprise firms | 46% |
In plain words
What this number really says
Seven in ten solo lawyers now use AI for legal work. Most of them still charge the same way they did before.
71%
of solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work
75%
of small firms do the same
86%
of solo firms have made no pricing changes
Why you can trust it. Vendor survey. Clio sells practice management and legal AI software. All numbers here come from its press release of 4 May 2026, which does not give the sample size.
Key terms
- Solo practitioner A lawyer who runs a firm alone.
- Small firm Clio's band between solo and mid-market. The release does not give the exact headcount range.
- Flat fee One agreed price for a matter or a task, instead of billing by the hour.
- General-purpose AI Consumer tools such as chat assistants, as opposed to AI built for legal work.
Source: Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms, 2026 report
Before and now
How we got here
Jun 2024 survey
72%Clio's 2024 survey: 72% of solo legal professionals used AI in some capacity, only 8% widely. Different question wording, so not a trend line.
May 2026
71%Solo practitioners using AI to complete legal work (Clio, 2026 report).
Next
Legal Trends ReportClio has a waitlist open for its next full Legal Trends Report.
Compare
How 71% compares
This number
71%
USA 2026 report
LatestSolo firms
86%
made no pricing changes for AI
+40 pts vs enterpriseSmall firms
78%
made no pricing changes for AI
+32 pts vs enterpriseMid-market firms
51%
made no pricing changes for AI
+5 pts vs enterpriseEnterprise firms
46%
made no pricing changes for AI
baselineWho it is for
Who should use this number, and how
Solo and small firm owners
See how common AI use is among peers and how few have changed their fees.
Benchmark your AI use and your fee model.
Legal marketers
Pricing is part of the pitch.
If the firm offers flat fees, say so on the website and intake pages.
Gains and risks
What firms gain, and what can go wrong
Numbers from studies and surveys, each with its source.
Gains
- Under 33%
of solo and small firms have increased revenue with AIClio, Legal Trends for Solo and Small Law Firms, 4 May 2026
- Nearly 60%
of enterprise firms have increased revenue with AISame Clio release
Risks
- 86%
of solo firms have made no pricing changes. Our reading: under hourly billing, faster work can mean smaller bills.Clio, 4 May 2026
- General tools
Most solo and small firms rely on consumer-grade AI tools, which Clio says create confidentiality risks when client data is entered.Clio, 4 May 2026
Where it shows
Where this number has an impact
Pricing
71% of clients prefer fixed or flat fees, per the same Clio release.
Marketing
Our reading: a clear flat-fee offer is a message a small firm can put in ads, on its website and in intake scripts.
The future
What this number says about what comes next
Forecasts below are made by others and linked to where they were published. Our own reading of the data is marked as ours.
Our reading, not a forecast
What the data suggests
- Our reading. Adoption is no longer the gap between small and large firms. Pricing and revenue are.
What to watch next
- Clio's next full Legal Trends Report (waitlist open on clio.com)
- The ABA's next TechReport on AI use by firm size
The data
All the numbers in one table
As published by Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms, 2026 report. Standard errors are shown where the source gives them.
| Firm size | Use AI for legal work | No pricing changes for AI |
|---|---|---|
| Solo | 71% | 86% |
| Small | 75% | 78% |
| Mid-market | n/a | 51% |
| Enterprise | n/a | 46% |
Why other surveys show lower numbers
The ABA's 2024 survey put AI use at about 30% of respondents' offices. We could not open the ABA page to confirm it, so it is marked Check first.
Clio asks whether legal professionals use AI for legal work. The ABA asked whether the office uses AI-based tools. Different questions and samples give different numbers.
Method and use
How it was measured, and how to use it
How it was measured
- Publisher
- Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms
- Source type
- Vendor data: A company measuring its own customers or panel
- What it measures
- 71% of US solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report
- Data period
- 2026 report
- Published by the source
- 4 May 2026
- Who is counted
- Clio survey of US legal professionals plus anonymised Clio platform data; sample size not stated in the release
- In the source's words
According to the report, 71% of solo practitioners and 75% of small firms are now using AI to complete legal work.
- Checked at source
- 23 Oct 2026: Read on clio.com press release dated 4 May 2026 (Legal Trends for Solo and Small Law Firms). Vendor survey; the release gives no sample size or field dates.
- Reuse
- Copyright Clio; short quotes with attribution. Vendor research from a legal software company that sells AI tools. Cite as Clio and link the report.
- Next expected update
- Yearly (Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), yearly (full report usually in October; solo/small and mid-sized editions in spring))
- Original page
- www.clio.com: Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms
- Data files
- CSV · JSON (stable links)
Full change log
No changes recorded yet. First checked at the source on 23 Oct 2026.
Cite this number
APA
Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.). (2026). 71% of US solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report. Via digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/law-firm-marketing/solo-law-firm-ai-use-2026
MLA
"71% of US solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report." Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), Legal Trends Report and Legal Trends for Solo, Small and Mid-Sized Law Firms, 2026 report. digitaltreed, https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/law-firm-marketing/solo-law-firm-ai-use-2026.
HTML link
<a href="https://digitaltreed.com/statistics/law-firm-marketing/solo-law-firm-ai-use-2026">71% of US solo practitioners use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's 2026 solo and small firm report</a> (Clio (Themis Solutions Inc.), 2026 report)
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FAQ
Questions about this number
What percentage of lawyers use AI in 2026?
71% of solo practitioners and 75% of small firms use AI to complete legal work, per Clio's report released on 4 May 2026. It is a vendor survey.
Do small law firms make more money with AI?
Not yet for most. Fewer than 33% of solo and small firms have increased revenue with AI, compared with nearly 60% of enterprise firms (Clio, May 2026).
Are law firms changing their fees because of AI?
Mostly not. 86% of solo firms and 78% of small firms have made no pricing changes, against 51% of mid-market and 46% of enterprise firms.
Do legal clients prefer flat fees?
Yes. 71% of clients prefer fixed or flat fees, per the same Clio release.
Is it true that 93% of law firms use AI?
No. The 93% figure is from Clio's 2025 report on mid-sized firms. For solo and small firms, Clio's 2026 figures are 71% and 75%.
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