Legal departments across the corporate sector are facing an operational strain as administrative workloads expand with AI-generated correspondence, according to research published by law firm Dentons. Employee grievances, customer complaints, and formal data requests are increasingly drafted using automated writing tools, creating a high-volume screening challenge for in-house legal teams.
Dentons Research Findings
- In-house legal teams at ten major corporations in the US, UK, and Ireland reported a significant surge in AI-drafted submissions, including GDPR requests and employee grievances.
- Companies including Mastercard (NYSE: MA), eir, and Wayflyer noted that the primary operational bottleneck involves filtering out irrelevant content rather than reading the volume.
- Research co-author Carlo Salizzo noted that corporate legal departments are deploying AI tools to manage incoming volumes rather than replacing internal staff roles.
The Operational Impact on Corporate Legal Teams
The research, conducted by Dentons’ Dublin-based technology, media, and telecommunications team, surveyed senior in-house counsel across international markets. Participating firms included Gilead Sciences, Uniphar, and Flipdish alongside Mastercard, eir, and Wayflyer. While automated tools accelerate the generation of complaints and grievances, legal teams must dedicate substantial hours to evaluating the validity of each submission.
Deirdre McCarthy, Chief Legal and People Officer at financing platform Wayflyer, described the dynamic surrounding high-volume digital text generation. Sometimes looks good, but may not always be good,
Ms McCarthy said regarding AI-produced content, noting that teams can spend excessive time trading red lines generated by automated systems.
Narrow Tasks Versus Core Legal Judgement
Despite the proliferation of automated text, the study found that corporate legal departments are not deploying advanced algorithms to replace core legal research or strategic judgement calls. Instead, organizations restrict AI deployment to narrow, repetitive administrative functions. Common applications include invoice review, contract checking, and customer screening.
According to research co-author David Kirton, the integration of automated tools requires multi-disciplinary collaboration to maintain proper governance standards. Furthermore, the findings indicate that these technological shifts are altering the commercial relationship between in-house legal divisions and external counsel, prompting teams to explore alternatives to traditional billable hour fee structures.
| Company Entity | Jurisdiction | Primary Reported AI Application |
|---|---|---|
| Mastercard | US / International | Managing high-volume correspondence |
| Wayflyer | Ireland / UK | Reviewing automated submissions |
| Gilead Sciences | US / International | Handling repetitive legal tasks |
| eir | Ireland | Processing customer and employee filings |
Future Governance and External Counsel Dynamics
As the volume of automated correspondence continues to scale across international enterprises, corporate governance frameworks are adapting to multi-disciplinary oversight. The Dentons study underscores that technology adoption in legal operations remains centered on productivity gains and workflow triage rather than headcount reduction.
Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice.
