AI was supposed to free up capacity for law firm marketing teams. For most, it hasn’t. Our CMO, Julie Barhoff, unpacked why in a recent piece for Law.com’s Law Journal Newsletters, and the reasoning is worth sharing in full. 

The problem was never a shortage of technology. It’s an operating model built for a world before AI existed. A recent Williams Lea survey of 200 senior marketing and business development leaders found that most law firms are already using AI somewhere in their marketing function, yet only about one in three leaders consider their firm ahead of the curve. Trust, not capability, is the real barrier holding teams back. 

That gap matters because the work itself hasn’t gotten any lighter. Marketing teams are still updating attorney bios, formatting decks, and turning around last-minute pitch requests, on top of being asked to drive measurable revenue impact. Piling AI tools onto that workload doesn’t solve it. It just adds one more thing to manage. 

The more useful framing is three distinct roles working together, rather than competing: AI accelerates production, experienced marketing professionals apply judgment and strategic direction, and managed services provide the scalable capacity to absorb workload spikes without adding permanent headcount. None of the three substitutes for the others. Together, they free marketing teams to spend less time formatting and more time advising attorneys, spotting growth opportunities, and protecting the firm’s brand. 

This shift also raises the stakes on governance, not lowers them. As AI becomes embedded in daily marketing workflows, firms need real clarity on approved platforms, confidentiality, brand standards, and human review, rather than leaving adoption to individual initiative. 

The tools matter less than the operating model built around them. It’s also exactly the kind of challenge our Creative & Business Solutions for Law Firms team works through with clients every day, combining scalable production support with the judgment that only experienced marketing professionals bring.