The Moment Legal Found Out What ‘Ready’ Really Means

Above the Law

by Jeremy Barker

February 13, 2026

AI-Generated Deep Dive Summary

The legal profession is learning the hard way that readiness isn’t just about having tools—it’s about being able to sustain processes under pressure. What was once seen as “innovation” in AI pilots and workflow experiments has now become a critical part of daily operations for many legal departments. The shift from testing to relying on these systems has exposed deeper issues around operational maturity, revealing whether teams can consistently deliver results at scale. Readiness often feels like an abstract concept—planning, foresight, and measured progress. But when experiments become everyday work, the real test begins. Teams must not only prove their processes work but also defend how they work and ensure they can handle increased demand without inconsistency. This is where many legal departments are struggling: early wins aside, they often lack the structure to reproduce those results consistently. Maturity isn’t about more tools or higher adoption rates—it’s about operating consistently when the environment stops being forgiving. Teams must ensure that work enters the system in a uniform way, ownership is clear when judgment is needed, and metrics focus on outcomes rather than just activity. These details may seem simple, but they’re crucial for scaling under pressure. The problem isn’t with AI or automation itself—it’s how legal teams have structured (or failed to structure) their processes around these tools. When intake varies by person or channel, technology can

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Originally published on Above the Law on 2/13/2026