2025 Legal Ops Predictions Revisited and What’s Next

Kevin Cohn of Brightflag submitted his 2025 legal ops predictions scorecard with hits, misses, and uncertainties. While some predictions materialized as expected, others failed or had indeterminate results, providing insight into what’s ahead in 2026.

The prediction that purpose-built artificial intelligence (AI) would outperform general-purpose AI was a hit, especially in regulated, high-risk domains. AI assistants became more prevalent, with 62% of organizations embedding them in everyday legal workflows. At the same time, collaboration between general counsel and legal ops leaders deepened, signaling a more unified approach to strategy and execution. Community-building and customer experience also emerged as differentiators, reflecting a broader shift toward relationship-driven value in legal tech and services.

Not every prediction held. The idea that prompts would become protected intellectual property was a miss, faltering under existing copyright law. Anticipated consolidation in contract lifecycle management slowed more than expected, and regulatory clarity around AI was indecisive. 

Looking ahead, Cohn’s 2026 legal ops predictions point to corporate legal increasing its strategic footprint inside the organization and taking ownership of AI policy, privacy, and information security. Cohn also predicted that Net Promoter Score will be positioned as a defining key performance indicator, reflecting the demand for transparency and measurable service quality. Moreover, legal ops hiring is anticipated to surge, while legal ops events and professional forums are expected to become more competitive.

In addition, Cohn predicted that legal tech will be built on advanced, state-of-the-art general-purpose AI systems such as OpenAI and Anthropic. Legal tech categories are likely to coalesce as platforms mature, consolidation resumes, and expert-driven solutions become essential. Finally, pricing debates may cool, but scrutiny around ROI will only intensify, anchoring legal ops firmly in data-driven decision making.