What law firms get wrong about what clients want (And what AI has to do with it)

At Sandpiper Partners’ Leading Law Firms Conference, one panelist cited research that cut through the usual assumptions in the room: When asked what they expected from their outside counsel, clients ranked communication first and empathy second, with technical expertise coming later in the order. Lawyers in the same research put technical expertise at the top and pushed communication further down.

This disconnect, as described by the panelist, captures something essential about the transformation reshaping legal services. It’s not really about AI replacing lawyers, it’s about fundamentally redefining what clients are willing to pay for in an environment where technology can handle an increasing share of legal work.

The “vending machine” problem

Client panelists were blunt about what doesn’t work: “Getting services from law firms shouldn’t be like a vending machine. You’re putting in a dime, asking a question, and out pops the answer.” What they want in return for premium rates is something very different from a fast, one-off answer.

They’re looking for outside counsel who can bring proactive market intelligence, e.g. what competitors are doing; how regulators are moving; where a particular product or structure is heading, so they can see around corners, not just react to issues once they’re on the table.

Clients also value law firms that understand the complexity of their organizations and their risk calibration so well that they don’t have to keep re-explaining context on every matter. They prize solution-oriented conversations that translate legal analysis into clear, actionable recommendations that work inside their business, instead of memos that push the decision back onto them.

This is where AI introduces a paradox. As firms roll out tools that dramatically increase efficiency, whether it’s taking document processing from more than 100 hours to about 5 or cutting due diligence from 20 hours to 2, there’s a real risk that service becomes even more transactional. A client panelist shared that their legal team is already using AI-driven knowledge management so they don’t have to pay outside counsel for opinions they’ve effectively paid for once already. Another panelist shared that their firm is turning to AI-enabled compliance providers at “much, much lower price points” for marketing review work that once went automatically to big firms.

In other words, the more efficiently firms can behave like vending machines, the more clients will reserve premium fees for something else entirely: Counsel who step out from behind the machine and act as strategic partners.

Is the billable hour finally dying?

Law firm leaders have predicted this for decades. One legal panelist admitted, “About 15 years ago, I gave a speech to my partners that in two years, 40% of our work was going to be fixed fee. Luckily, nobody ever remembered anything I said.”

This time feels different. Litigation boutiques are pricing massive cases on flat fees, and AI makes this viable for larger firms to match. New law firms are launching with AI at their core, pricing significantly below traditional firms for specialized work like marketing compliance.

One law firm’s proprietary AI platform is projected to drive $50 million in margin improvement over three years, partly by enabling fixed-fee pricing for work previously billed hourly.

As one managing partner noted, “Many of our services will be better priced on value, and by value, we mean we’re helping the client get to their business goal in a way they’re happy with, whatever that price is.”

From marvel to operationalization

Joel Wirchin from Williams Lea, drawing on the firm’s market oversight across the industry, offered a crucial observation: “I think the day has long passed where we just marvel at AI and now start talking about, how it really does change our lives, and how do we really operationalize it?”

He detailed tangible gains: AI embedded in everyday tools like PowerPoint is significantly shortening the time it takes to produce pitch materials. When that is combined with AI that automates intake and job triage, firms are giving meaningful portions of time back to professionals to focus on higher‑value work. Backoffice operations that once resulted in operational drag now move substantially faster, and annual performance review cycles that used to consume months can now be completed in a fraction of the time.

But Wirchin emphasized the human element: “The human in the loop is key, because AI is only as good as the people who own and operate it. So, the more we think in terms of training—training in AI, and integrating it into the working culture, teaching how to use it, how to word-prompt properly, how to modify searches and prompts so that they produce the desired and correct outcomes, the better off firms will be —that’s really key.”

The bottom line

The conference made clear that the majority of law firms now actively engage with AI. But the challenge isn’t adoption, it’s answering harder questions: If clients value communication over technical expertise, how should firms allocate partner time? If routine work is commoditized, what’s the partnership path? If the billable hour is dying, how do compensation models evolve?

The firms that will thrive won’t be those with the most sophisticated AI tools. They’ll be the ones that use technology to solve the “vending machine” problem—freeing their lawyers to have the proactive, insight-driven conversations that clients consistently say they value most, but too rarely receive.

At Williams Lea, we help law firms navigate operational transformation by combining technology, process optimization, and expert talent to deliver measurable results. Learn more about our tech-enabled legal industry solutions and how we can help your firm amplify what’s remarkable.