The Legal Innovation Asia 2026: AI Meets Law – The Next Frontier report, developed with the Asia-Pacific Legal Innovation & Technology Association (ALITA), shows that almost 90% of legal professionals across the Asia-Pacific region are already using AI in their work. More than half 51% use both general-purpose and legal specialist AI tools.
AI innovation in legal work
The report, based on facilitated roundtable discussions with legal professionals across Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, also acknowledges significant barriers to AI adoption in the legal field, despite high optimism about its use.
This includes leadership buy-in, data governance and confidentiality concerns, uneven adoption across jurisdictions, the complexity of tool selection, and the readiness of legal talent to integrate AI into legal work.
“Over the next few years, legal teams will need to make far more deliberate decisions about where AI can genuinely enhance legal work, and where human oversight must remain central. The challenge is not just adopting technology but doing so in a way that aligns with governance, regulatory expectations, and organisational priorities,” Anastasia Chen, director and deputy head of the Data Protection, Privacy & Cybersecurity practice at Drew & Napier, said.
