The Legal Data Revolution

• Overview
• US: Data as Performance Lever

• UK: Performance, Pricing, Profitability

United States: Data as Performance Lever

US IHC are increasingly using legal data to sharpen internal/partner performance and resource optimisation (40%). This suggests that data is being used not just for oversight, but as a tool for continuous improvement and a solution to resource pressures. Likely focus areas include benchmarking internal teams and identifying efficiency gains.

Risk management and compliance (22%) also features prominently and is on the increase, indicating IHC are relying on data to anticipate regulatory exposure and monitor adherence across jurisdictions. An equal proportion — 22% — are using data to support strategic planning and growth, pointing to its potential role in forecasting legal spend, identifying capability gaps and informing broader business decisions.

Meanwhile, pricing and profitability strategies (13%) show more limited uptake, suggesting that while cost modelling is on the radar, it’s not yet a primary driver of data use.

Finally, marketing and business development (13%) appears to be declining as a focus area, implying that IHC are less concerned with external positioning and more focused on internal performance metrics.

The Legal Data Revolution

We found that in-house leaders across both the UK and US are embedding data into their workflows, using it to manage performance, allocate resources, benchmark internal teams, plan and forecast. The findings suggest legal data is no longer a peripheral tool, but a key component in evidence-led decision making.

Interpretation

US IHC are treating legal data as a lever for performance — using it to assess partner value, optimise spend and support forward planning. The emphasis on risk and resource management suggests a market that is data-aware but still pragmatic, prioritising tools that deliver measurable operational impact.

United Kingdom: Performance, Pricing, Profitability

UK IHC, even more than their American counterparts, are turning to legal data as a tool for internal/partner performance and resource optimisation. This use case was selected by a large majority of 63%. We can infer that British in-house legal teams are under pressure to demonstrate value, track efficiency and benchmark outcomes across both in-house and external counsel.

The second most cited use case — pricing and profitability strategies (43%) — points to a strong commercial orientation, with data evidently being used to model spend, forecast budgets and support cost control to a much higher degree than in the US.

Risk management and compliance (20%) remains a steady focus, though notably lower than in the US, indicating that UK IHC may be relying more on structural processes than data-led oversight in this area.

Finally, the result for market trends and client insights (17%) shows that some IHC are using data to inform external engagement and anticipate client needs, though this remains a minority use case compared to internal metrics.

Interpretation

UK IHC are using legal data to sharpen financial oversight and validate performance. The high emphasis on pricing and profitability suggests a market where legal teams are under pressure to show commercial fluency and cost discipline. Compared to the US, there’s less focus on risk and planning, and more on benchmarking and budget control — reflecting different regulatory contexts and business cultures.

Fig 2. What are the most important challenges that legal data helps your organisation address?