Partnerships Claude for Legal ChatGPT for Law.

Chapter 1 Introduction

Lesson 1.1:Who This Guide Is For (and How to Read It)

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This guide is a plain-language map: what the tools do, where they fail, what the rules say, and how to begin. No technical background required.

AI tools arrived in legal work faster than most firms could write a policy for them. The Thomson Reuters 2026 AI in Professional Services Report (opens in a new tab) found that 41% of law firms and 47% of corporate legal departments say their legal teams are using GenAI, up from 28% and 23% respectively in 2025. Broader surveys report even higher numbers. The figure depends heavily on how the question is asked: survey design moves the answer from 26% to 92% .

Adoption

Lawyers are already using it.

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Law firms

Corporate legal departments

Adoption is rising fast. Understanding comes next.

Thomson Reuters, AI in Professional Services Report (2025, 2026). Surveys that count any AI tool, not only generative AI, report much higher figures. Definitions matter.

Who it is for

Lawyers and the people who work with them: partners and associates, in-house counsel, judges, legal operations, paralegals, students. Whether you use AI daily or have never opened a chatbot, the guide starts from what you already know: legal work.

It won't sell you a tool, and it isn't advice on your own professional rules. It gives you the questions to ask, the sources behind each answer, and enough understanding to judge the rest yourself.

How to read it

  • Read the course in order, or jump to a specific lesson. Seven chapters, each answering one practical question about AI in legal work. Every lesson stands alone.
  • Find your way around. The full table of contents opens from the course name at the top of every lesson.
  • Jargon is explained as you go. Hover or tap a dotted word like for a quick definition, or browse them all in the survival glossary.
  • Play with the interactive examples. Change the inputs and watch the result move. When the numbers are made up for illustration, we say so.
  • Every figure is sourced and dated. AI moves fast, so check the date before you quote a number.
  • Take your time. Your progress is saved in this browser, so you can stop anywhere and pick up where you left off.