Legal Work Is Evolving Fast. What 304 Lawyers Say Needs to Change Next
See what other legal professionals say lawyers should be paying attention to in 2026.
Legal work hasn’t changed nearly as much as the environment around it has. Lawyers are still driven by judgment, problem-solving and client outcomes. What has changed is the growing friction surrounding that work.
Today’s legal teams are operating under higher expectations, tighter timelines and less room for inefficiency. Clients and internal stakeholders expect speed, transparency and clarity. Risk and regulatory demands continue to grow. Technology now shapes nearly every stage of legal work, often adding complexity instead of removing it.
For lawyers, that friction shows up in practical ways. Intake takes longer than it should. Information arrives late or incomplete. Documents move across too many systems. Collaboration depends on workarounds. Security requirements add steps at every stage. On their own, these issues may seem manageable. Together, they shape how legal work feels day to day and how clients experience legal teams long before legal judgment comes into play.
That is the picture that emerges in The State of the Legal Industry 2026 Report, commissioned by the Progress ShareFile team and based on insights from 304 lawyers across law firms and in-house legal teams.
The findings show a profession that remains deeply committed to meaningful client work, but increasingly constrained by manual processes, disconnected tools and workflows that have not kept pace with modern demands. The report’s first major finding brings that tension into sharp focus. Lawyers still love the work they do, but efficiency remains one of the legal industry’s most persistent challenges.
Lawyers Still Love the Work. They Just Want Less Friction Around It
One of the strongest signals in the report is that lawyers are not burned out on the profession itself. In fact, 97% say they enjoy the job, and 98% say they get to do the work they like most each week.
So the issue is not motivation or commitment. It is operational drag.
More than half of lawyers say they feel effective, but not efficient. Nearly three-quarters say their workflows involve too many steps, and 77% say much of their work is still manual.
That disconnect is shaping both the lawyer experience and the client experience. When workflows are fragmented, even strong legal teams lose time to handoffs, follow-up, rework and coordination, rather than spending that time on high-value legal work that requires legal judgment.
Keep Reading
The State of the Legal Industry 2026 Report takes a deeper look at how legal work is changing, where inefficiencies persist and how law firms and in-house legal teams are adapting.
Download the report to understand more about the challenges and opportunities legal professionals are experiencing.
Katie Austin
Katie Austin is a media strategist and audience engagement expert with a passion for data-driven storytelling. As the Strategic Awareness & Advocacy Lead for Progress Sitefinity, she brings years of experience in audience development, media analytics and social strategy from top mainstream media organizations.