The business services AI paradox: cut costs, grow, or leapfrog?
For years, both practitioners and lawyers have complained about the structure of business services in law firms. Ignoring what’s happening with AI discards a perfect opportunity to finally break free from outdated models.
From countless conversations and workshops over the past year, one thing has become clear; people are split in their response to the changes AI is bringing. Some see an exciting opportunity to rethink how they work. Others feel overwhelmed or even actively ignore what’s happening. The last attitude is clearly the least acceptable!
We’ve all got to decide what to do with the time we’ve been given, including our relatively short working lives. For years, both practitioners and lawyers have complained about the structure of business services in law firms. Yet very little has changed.
It feels as though we’re genuinely being presented with a chance to change the game – AI presents the perfect opportunity to finally break free from outdated models and reimagine what business services could be.
The old model was always broken
Business services in law firms weren’t built for the modern age. They evolved reactively, starting with shared resources to pool admin costs, then expanding into marketing, business development, client strategy and so on. But the fundamental issue is partnership structures don’t allow for enough resource to go around.
Every practice group, sector focus, and niche needs the same things: pitches, events, thought leadership, sales campaigns, social content, business plans. Yet these tasks are repeated, reworked, and reimagined separately, creating inefficiencies AI now exposes in wonderful HD.
Technology will change the model, so make it work for you
A lot of AI discourse focuses on efficiency – how many jobs it will replace, how many hours it will save. But efficiency alone isn’t a strategy. It’s an outcome.
The firms and individuals who thrive won’t just use AI to do the same things faster. They’ll use it to rethink what should be done in the first place.
That means moving beyond fear or passive acceptance and actively shaping how AI is integrated into business services. Instead of reacting to change, professionals need to be asking:
- If we were building a business services function from scratch today, what would it look like?
- How can AI help enhance client relationships rather than just internal processes?
- Where can we shift from execution to strategy, using AI to automate the former so we can focus on the latter?
This is the chance to stop complaining about how business services have always worked and start shaping how it should work.
Law firms will try to do the same with less, not more with the same
Firms are looking at AI and seeing cost-cutting first, growth second. The assumption is AI will enable them to operate leaner, doing the same amount of work with fewer people. But what AI should be enabling them to do is more with the same, expanding capabilities rather than shrinking teams.
Some firms will grasp this distinction and invest in AI-powered value creation. Others will only see AI as a means to an end for reducing overheads. The latter will find themselves hollowed out, with a stripped-back business services function incapable of driving meaningful client growth.
The firms that win in the AI era will be those reinvesting efficiency gains into capability building, innovation, and strategic growth. Those that don’t will be left trying to compete on price, their only lever being deeper cuts.
“Business services in law firms weren’t built for the modern age. They evolved reactively, starting with shared resources to pool admin costs, then expanding into marketing, business development, client strategy and so on. But the fundamental issue is that partnership structures don’t allow for enough resource to go around.”
Forget ‘winning’—who’s going to stay relevant?
For firms: the business services function must be more than execution.
Firms thriving in the AI age will be those that see business services as a driver of growth, not just an execution function. Marketing and business development [M&BD] teams can’t just be reactive, taking briefs from lawyers and producing whatever’s demanded. They need to act as strategic partners.
- Lawyers bring expertise. Business services bring commercial growth. The two should work together—but the latter can’t just be an order-taker.
- The firms that succeed will be the ones recognising the full value of their M&BD teams and give them the remit to shape strategy, not just execute it.
- Those that don’t? They’ll be left with fragmented, under-resourced teams struggling to add value in a way AI can’t replace.
For individuals be a strategic partner – not just an efficient enabler
- For individuals in business services, the AI era isn’t just about efficiency – it’s about adaptability. The skills that will matter most aren’t about mastering AI tools. They’re about being able to think strategically and adapt quickly.
- You don’t have to know everything. But you certainly must be able to learn anything.
The most valuable professionals will be those who can apply AI within a commercial context, translating technological potential into revenue impact. - As AI agents become more advanced, efficiency will be automated. The human role will be in defining the strategy AI executes.
Leapfrog, don’t catch up
Most law firms are still trying to catch up with innovations they should have adopted years ago. AI is giving them a rare opportunity to reset – to move beyond the outdated business services model and rethink what it means to deliver commercial value.
Some firms will take AI’s efficiency gains and cut their way to irrelevance. Others will use them to reimagine how they grow. Some professionals will be replaced by AI tools. Others will redefine their roles in ways AI can’t replace. This isn’t about ‘winning.’ It’s about not being left behind.
So, are you thinking about how to leapfrog? Or are you still trying to catch up?
About the Author
Sam Stamp is a Director at LINAR Consulting, specialising in growth, innovation, and AI in the legal sector. LINAR helps law firms reimagine business services, transforming them from cost centres into revenue engines.