How Legal AI Is Changing Client Expectations (and What That Means for Your Fees)

If you’ve attended a CLE, opened any legal publication, or talked to your clients recently, you’ve heard the same message: “AI is coming for the legal industry.” But behind every buzzy headline, there’s a quieter—and maybe more urgent—story playing out in courtrooms, law offices, and client boardrooms across the country:

Clients are becoming AI-aware. They’re hearing about million-dollar investments in legal AI and firms that draft documents in a fraction of the time. They’re reading about legal innovation in the business news. And they have a basic, reasonable question:

Why should I pay for 20 hours of attorney time when your competitors are using AI to do it in 2?

The AI-Informed Client: Shifting the Power Dynamic

Today’s clients are savvier than ever. They compare pricing. They interview multiple firms. Increasingly, they ask directly about a firm’s use of technology—including legal AI. The message is clear: “I want expertise, but I don’t want to pay for inefficiency.”

This isn’t science fiction—it’s happening now, especially among sophisticated commercial clients, in-house counsel, and even regular individuals who read the legal news. Somewhere, someone else is telling your potential client they can deliver results faster and for less with AI. How will you answer?

Billing and Fee Pressure in the AI Era

There’s a growing disconnect between traditional hourly billing and the realities of AI-assisted practice:

• Repetitive document drafting (complaints, motions, discovery, etc.) that once took hours now takes minutes with the right tech.
• Clients know it. They’re reading about it everywhere — hell, sometimes they’re even using it before you do — and hearing from competing attorneys who are happy to pass those savings along.
• Hourly billing is under scrutiny. Across the industry, some have shifted toward alternative fee arrangements (AFAs), flat fees, and “value-based billing” when being empowered by AI.

Ethics rules haven’t changed, but client perception has.

How This Impacts Your Ethical Obligations

ABA Model Rule 1.5 (Fees) requires attorneys to charge only “reasonable” fees. Reasonableness isn’t set in stone; it’s defined by what’s usual in the profession, what efficiencies are possible, and what’s fair to the client.

If leading firms are using AI to generate drafts in an hour—and you’re still billing 12 or 15 for the same—how will you justify that to a client? Or, more problematically, to a disciplinary committee if a client complains? Competence (Rule 1.1) and Reasonable Fees (Rule 1.5) are now intertwined with your technological adoption. And in this new age, transparency is key. You don’t need to itemize every tool, but clients are best served when you’re honest about how you use technology to deliver faster, better work.

Practical Steps for Meeting Modern Clients Where They Are

1. Be upfront about your technology use. Let clients know that you employ secure, attorney-focused AI platforms like First Drafts to produce work efficiently. This reassures them you’re not billing them for manual, repetitive tasks.
2. Review your fee schedules. Consider moving repetitive, commoditized work to flat-fee or AFA structures, especially when it’s AI-assisted.
3. Focus on value, not just hours. AI systems like First Drafts help you deliver quality drafts quickly, so your true value is in strategy, negotiation, and judgment—things no platform can replace.
4. Stay current with legal tech trends. Clients are—shouldn’t you be?

Future-Proofing Your Practice: Get Ahead or Risk Falling Behind

Legal tech and AI are no longer an “if”—they’re a “when.” The lawyers who thrive will be those who:

• Embrace AI for what it is: a tool to do more, better, faster.
• Align billing models and client communication with this new reality.
• Deliver strategic value rather than rote, manual labor.

Clients are already asking. Will you be ready with the right answer?

Conclusion: Thriving in the Age of AI-Augmented Lawyering

The best lawyers of the next decade won’t be those who can type fastest or bill the most, but those who use every available tool—including AI—to deliver truly excellent, efficient, and ethical results.

At First Drafts, we help law firms empower their lawyers, impress their clients, and answer the AI question with confidence: “Yes—we use the most cutting-edge AI technology. And yes—we pass those savings along to you.”

Ready to equip your practice for the AI-savvy client? Request a demo today and see how easy, ethical, and efficient legal drafting can be.