How AT&T is using AI to reduce its reliance on law firms
T•AT&T has shifted thousands of hours of legal work from outside firms to its in-house team using AI, though it said specific cost savings are hard to estimate. The company also partnered with OpenAI to make more than 100 years of legal department knowledge easier to access.
1. Legal work moves in-house
AT&T General Counsel David McAtee said the company now handles in-house work that law firms traditionally assigned to junior lawyers, including document review, legal research, witness interviews and first drafts. He said associate hours on law firm bills are declining, and AT&T lawyers have done thousands of hours of such work this year; the company said specific savings are difficult to estimate.
2. AI tools and LegalEdge
AT&T partnered with OpenAI to make more than 100 years of institutional knowledge from its legal department easier to access through tools such as chatbots and agents. The initiative follows the January launch of LegalEdge, a 38-person team that handles work previously done by outside firms.
3. Fewer firms, strategic advice
McAtee said AT&T's roughly 30 national law firms could shrink to 18 to 20 over the next two years, without setting an exact target. The company handled its Dallas Cowboys partnership renegotiation, including AT&T Stadium naming rights, and filed a misleading advertising complaint against another carrier without outside firms. AT&T says law firms that work well with LegalEdge and embrace AI could receive a larger share of its work, focused on strategy and judgment.
