AI won't kill the billable hour in the legal world — it'll just reinvent it

Getty Images; Alyssa Powell/BI

• Generative AI is transforming the legal industry, but attorneys say the billable hour is here to stay.
• Instead, they said the value of a lawyer's hour is likely to increase as AI tools help automate routine tasks.
• "You'll still see billable hours, but you'll see a reduction of those billable hours," said one attorney.

Generative artificial intelligence is revolutionizing industries across many sectors, and the legal world is no different.