Lawyers using AI: 55% in Victoria, but only 26% cut client fees

More than half of lawyers in the Australian state of Victoria now use AI, and most of their clients have not seen a smaller bill. The 2026 Victorian Lawyer Census, published on 30 October by the research centre of the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, surveyed 2,221 lawyers. 55% use AI tools at work, up from 37% in 2025. Among AI users who charge fees, 26% say AI lowered what clients pay.

Who uses it and how

Use has spread across career stages: in every age group under 60, more than half of lawyers use AI. Of those, 78% say they used it more for legal work over the past year. Most stick to general assistants. 79% rely on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Copilot, the same AI assistants anyone can buy, and the move to legal-specific tools has been modest.

Where the savings went

Lawyers serving business clients reported lower fees more often, 34%, against 23% of those serving individuals who pay. Only 7% introduced fixed or capped fees, and 3% began unbundling services so a client pays for one task instead of a whole matter. 18% said AI let them take on work that used to be uneconomical.

“AI is quickly becoming part of everyday legal practice, but widespread use should not be mistaken for widespread benefit”

— Dr Georgina Rychner, principal researcher and report co-author, Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, 30 October 2026 · lsbc.vic.gov.au

What clients bring in

The census also asked about AI on the other side of the desk. 46% of client-facing lawyers saw clients arrive with inaccurate or misleading information from AI, and 41% received AI-written documents or letters that needed correcting. 10% said AI had helped clients understand their issue. 46% said client AI use added time and effort to their work, against 19% who said it reduced the load. Community legal centres, which serve people who cannot pay, felt it most.

Clients now bring in the same AI hallucination problem that courts have already caught lawyers with. In August 2025 the board removed a solicitor known as Mr Dayal from running his own practice and put him under supervision for two years, after he gave a court a list of AI-generated case citations that did not hold up. In the US, a lawyer has been permanently suspended over invented case law.

Our count

• 55% use AI, and 26% of fee-charging users say fees fell. Across all respondents that is at most about one lawyer in seven.
• For every client who arrived better informed by AI, 4.6 arrived misinformed.
• For every lawyer whose load got lighter from client AI use, 2.4 had it get heavier.
• Use rose by 18 points in a year, almost half again.

The board lists responsible AI use as a professional competence risk in its Risk Outlook 2026 and plans practical guidance, with no date yet. If you hire a lawyer in Victoria, ask two things before you sign: whether they use AI on your matter, and whether that changes the fee or the hours they bill.

This piece is information, not legal or financial advice. Figures come from the 2026 Victorian Lawyer Census by the Victorian Legal Services Board and Commissioner, covered by The Guardian.