Summary
Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance has achieved 90% active AI adoption among employees, up from 66% before 2025. The firm has also begun reducing back-office staff by 10% as AI transforms traditional support functions.
Clifford Chance has reported that 90% of its employees now actively use AI tools, a significant increase from approximately two-thirds before 2025. According to Paul Greenwood, CTO, "Pretty much everyone now uses AI and that's been a big change."
The firm was among the first organizations globally to deploy Microsoft Copilot for 365 and Viva Suite at scale across its entire workforce. By April 2024, the firm was already seeing over 60% daily adoption rates.
Clifford Chance developed its own private AI tool—Clifford Chance Assist—built on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI platform. Lawyers across the firm have formed grassroots "innovation groups" and built prototype agents to automate various tasks.
Key AI implementations include:
- **Regulatory Compliance Agent**: Automatically tracks changing laws and generates tailored impact assessments
- **Contract Analysis Tools**: Reduce time spent on document review
- **Research Assistants**: Accelerate legal research workflows
The AI transformation has also impacted the workforce structure. The firm is reducing its London business services workforce by 10%, with approximately 50 jobs being made redundant and up to 35 others facing role changes in finance, HR, and IT functions.
During FY24, Clifford Chance identified over 400 AI use cases through its AI Steering Groups, reviewed against the firm's AI Principles and prioritized for firm-wide delivery. These principles—grounded in fairness, transparency, accountability, and privacy—align with international best practices.
The firm's vision for "the lawyer of the future" involves working in tandem with AI—leveraging agents to handle research and first-draft preparation, allowing lawyers to concentrate on higher-value strategic counsel and advisory work.
Clifford Chance is also participating in Microsoft's Frontier Firm AI Initiative and exploring Microsoft Copilot Studio to create, manage, and connect agents to Copilot.