I went to the legal-tech industry's spin on Sun Valley Conference. The message was clear: 'Thou shalt' use AI.

"The key debate was not simply whether lawyers should use AI, but how to buy it, and who pays. Run by the investment firm The Legal Tech Fund, TLTF Summit is a three-day event and the industry's spin on the Sun Valley Conference. This year, panels considered staffing models, non-lawyer ownership, "innovation theater," and unsanctioned tool use, or "shadow IT.""

"Unlike corporations, she said, most law firms are partnerships that distribute profits each year instead of retaining earnings. That leaves little cash for technology bets that may take years to pay off. The billable-hour model also blunts incentives. Software that reduces hours can cut revenue unless the firm moves to fixed fees or share-of-savings deals. Add strict confidentiality rules, client security audits, and a procurement process that's fragmented across a firm's practices, and the path to buying new tools is slow by design."

"When generative AI first hit law firms, many clients were also wary. An employment lawyer said that certain clients would tell her firm not to use the technology on their matters. But soon, those same clients were demanding adoption, the lawyer added. They asked what tools the firm used, how lawyers were trained, and where the savings showed up. As one retired firm chair put it: In two years, "thou shalt not" became "thou shalt.""

Law firm leaders and legal-tech builders met at a private summit in Austin to debate AI adoption, procurement, and who bears costs. Panels covered staffing models, non-lawyer ownership, innovation theater, and shadow IT. Partnership structures and annual profit distributions limit available cash for long-term tech investments. The billable-hour model reduces incentives to deploy time-saving software without alternative fee arrangements. Client expectations shifted from forbidding AI to demanding adoption, training transparency, tool disclosure, and documented savings. Confidentiality rules, security audits, and fragmented procurement across practices slow enterprise tool purchases.

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