Spotlight

The Seventh Annual General Counsel Report

The Seventh Annual General Counsel Report examines the evolution of corporate legal leaders into an "Unfazed Era." This analysis is based on global survey data and qualitative interviews, detailing how general counsel are moving beyond crisis response to strategically manage escalating risk, demand, and operational complexity. The report provides critical insights into the top risks for 2026, the strategies being implemented to handle increased workloads, and the state of preparedness for emerging challenges like generative AI, offering a comprehensive view for legal and corporate leadership.

In a joint effort by FTI Technology and Relativity, The General Counsel Report is an annual global study of in-house legal department trends, challenges and best practices. Chief legal officers from a range of industries were interviewed and surveyed about their roles.

Download the full report

Interactive Self Survey

Take the interactive survey below to measure yourself against your peers and then download a complimentary copy of The 7th Annual General Counsel Report to examine the findings in detail.

Who answered this survey?

In September 2025, Ari Kaplan conducted personal interviews with 30 leaders serving as general counsel or chief legal officers of their organizations. Sixty-three percent have a role with global responsibilities and 59% work in organizations with more than $500 million in annual revenue.

Separately, in the summer of 2025, Censuswide conducted a quantitative survey of 224 general counsel and chief legal officers at organizations with more than $100 million in annual revenue and more than 1,000 employees in South America, North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.

Part I Interactive Survey Questions

Question 1/10

What are your primary legal risks?

Data privacy
Emerging technologies & data growth impacting litigation readiness and discovery costs
Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
Geopolitics (e.g., tariffs, war, trade, sanctions, supply chain disruptions)
Implications/risks/ethics/compliance of advanced technology (e.g., AI, metaverse, blockchain)
Increased data volumes impacting e-discovery and other workflows
Regulatory compliance

Emerging technologies & data growth impacting litigation readiness and discovery costs

16%

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)

15%

Regulatory compliance

15%

Implications/risks/ethics/compliance of advanced technology (e.g., AI, metaverse, blockchain)

15%

Geopolitics (e.g., tariffs, war, trade, sanctions, supply chain disruptions)

13%

Increased data volumes impacting e-discovery and other workflows

13%

Data privacy

13%

In the report, 15.9% of general counsel said emerging technologies and data growth were their primary legal risk, the highest ranked among all risks.

“Increasingly, AI is being viewed as the panacea for driving efficiencies; however, there are associated data risks, and the potential impact on employees is a crucial consideration. We are also being inundated with regulations, so it is difficult to keep up.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 2/10

Given global geopolitical and regulatory disruptions over the past year, which of the following best describe the trends for risk, demand and operations in your organization?

More complicated
More expensive
More Unpredictable
Resulted in increased disputes and investigations
Resulted in more regulatory activity
Resulted in new areas of work for the legal department

Resulted in new areas of work for the legal department

20%

More complicated

17%

More Unpredictable

17%

Resulted in more regulatory activity

16%

Resulted in increased disputes and investigations

15%

More expensive

15%

In the report, 19.6% of general counsel said geopolitical and regulatory disruptions created entirely new areas of work for their legal departments.

“The increased regulatory activity is resulting in more work for the legal department.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 3/10

What strategies are you prioritizing to support legal department efficiency and efficacy?

AI/Generative AI
Hiring generalists
Hiring specialists
Increased budget
New roles/more headcount
Relying on law firms
Relying on outside service providers
Technology (excluding AI)

AI/Generative AI

14%

Hiring specialists

13%

Increased budget

13%

Relying on law firms

13%

Technology (excluding AI)

13%

New roles/more headcount

12%

Hiring generalists

11%

Relying on outside service providers

11%

In the report, 13.6% of general counsel said they are prioritizing the use of AI or generative AI to improve legal department efficiency.

“We want to take an AI-first mindset and have an internal corporate GPT. We use it for research and engage with it before taking any action.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 4/10

What are your main concerns about the potential impact of using generative AI within your organization and/or legal department?

Cost of tools
Creation of harmful content
Data privacy
IP/copyright issues
Security issues
Undetected hallucinations/inaccurate or inconsistent results

Undetected hallucinations / inaccurate or inconsistent results

41%

Security issues

28%

IP/copyright issues

14%

Cost of tools

Creation of harmful content

Data privacy

In the report, 40.7% of general counsel ranked undetected hallucinations and inaccurate results as their top concern related to generative AI.

“Generative AI never provides the full answer and often provides incorrect information. We would only use it as an initial view.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 5/10

How comfortable are you with your team and/or outside counsel using generative AI?

Comfortable
Not comfortable

Comfortable, 63%

Not comfortable, 37%

In the report, 63% of general counsel said they are comfortable with their teams or outside counsel using generative AI.

“I am comfortable with any of these use cases, provided full human oversight is in place. If there is no human oversight, I am uncomfortable with exclusively using generative AI in all of the categories.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 6/10

In your organization, which of the following have you seen an increase in demand for?

Business advisory activities
Class action litigation
Data breaches
IP theft/misappropriation
Legal matters related to emerging technologies
Privacy violations and/or notifications
Tariff and supply-chain related activities / contract reviews for third-party management

Data breaches

15%

Privacy violations and/or notifications

15%

Legal matters related to emerging technologies

15%

Business advisory activities

14%

Class action litigation

14%

Tariff and supply-chain related activities / contract reviews for third-party management

14%

IP theft/misappropriation

13%

In the report, 15.4% of general counsel said demand increased most for work tied to privacy violations and notifications.

“We have received many DSARs and have needed to develop efficient practices for responding.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 7/10

Has your organization experienced any new challenges associated with emerging data sources (e.g., collaboration apps, linked docs, cloud productivity platforms)?

No 53%

Yes 47%

In the report, 47% of general counsel said their organizations have experienced new challenges from emerging data sources.

“There is a great reliance on Google Docs in the legal department, which has been a challenge for the lawyers in the department. There is a realtime reaction to our edits, which has made the process more cumbersome.”

Question 8/10

Which of the following is a primary driver of disputes and investigations in your organization?

Civil litigation
Class actions
Corruption/whitecollar crime
Data breaches
Data subject access requests (DSARs)
Employment issues
Internal investigations
IP disputes
Regulatory investigations/criminal matters
Whistleblowers

Civil litigation

11%

Regulatory investigations/criminal matters

11%

Class actions

10%

Corruption/whitecollar crime

10%

Data breaches

10%

Data subject access requests (DSARs)

10%

Internal investigations

10%

IP disputes

10%

Employment issues

Whistleblowers

In the report, 10.5% of general counsel identified regulatory investigations and criminal matters as the leading driver of disputes and investigations.

“Disputes can be both offensive and defensive, but investigations are typically driven by regulatory inquiries, complaints, or employee whistleblowing.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

Question 9/10

Has your organization experienced any litigation/penalties/public fallout/DSARs/notice requirements relating to a data breach or data‑protection failure/violation?

No, 85%

Yes,
15%

In the report, only 14.71% of general counsel said their organizations faced litigation, penalties, or fallout tied to a data protection failure.

“We have everything in place, including a plan and the necessary tools.”

Question 10/10

How have legal department operations changed over the past year?

More complicated
More disputes & investigations
More expensive
More regulatory activity
More unpredictable
New areas of work

New areas of work

20%

More complicated

17%

More unpredictable

17%

More regulatory activity

16%

More disputes & investigations

15%

More expensive

15%

In the report, 19.6% of general counsel said their departments took on new areas of work over the past year, marking the most common operational shift.

“The expectations for the legal department are increasing, which is burdensome, especially because of the new and complex regulations in Europe.”

*Percentages for multi-select questions are normalized to total 100% for readability.

The Seventh Annual General Counsel Report

Interactive Self Survey

Part I Interactive Survey Questions

What are your primary legal risks?

In the report, 15.9% of general counsel said emerging technologies and data growth were their primary legal risk, the highest ranked among all risks.

Given global geopolitical and regulatory disruptions over the past year, which of the following best describe the trends for risk, demand and operations in your organization?

In the report, 19.6% of general counsel said geopolitical and regulatory disruptions created entirely new areas of work for their legal departments.

What strategies are you prioritizing to support legal department efficiency and efficacy?

In the report, 13.6% of general counsel said they are prioritizing the use of AI or generative AI to improve legal department efficiency.

What are your main concerns about the potential impact of using generative AI within your organization and/or legal department?

In the report, 40.7% of general counsel ranked undetected hallucinations and inaccurate results as their top concern related to generative AI.

How comfortable are you with your team and/or outside counsel using generative AI?

In the report, 63% of general counsel said they are comfortable with their teams or outside counsel using generative AI.

In your organization, which of the following have you seen an increase in demand for?

In the report, 15.4% of general counsel said demand increased most for work tied to privacy violations and notifications.

Has your organization experienced any new challenges associated with emerging data sources (e.g., collaboration apps, linked docs, cloud productivity platforms)?

In the report, 47% of general counsel said their organizations have experienced new challenges from emerging data sources.

Which of the following is a primary driver of disputes and investigations in your organization?

In the report, 10.5% of general counsel identified regulatory investigations and criminal matters as the leading driver of disputes and investigations.

Has your organization experienced any litigation/penalties/public fallout/DSARs/notice requirements relating to a data breach or data‑protection failure/violation?

In the report, only 14.71% of general counsel said their organizations faced litigation, penalties, or fallout tied to a data protection failure.

How have legal department operations changed over the past year?

In the report, 19.6% of general counsel said their departments took on new areas of work over the past year, marking the most common operational shift.

The Seventh Annual General Counsel Report

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