Trudy Knockless

"When AI produces insights that you have to manually verify before being able to trust them, you've done the polar opposite of unlocking AI efficiency. You've added a verification burden on top of your existing processes," said Mark Ross, principal and growth and markets leader at Deloitte Legal Business Services.

Howard Boyd will take over July 1, succeeding Victoria “Tori” Johnson, who is stepping down after more than three decades of service to the university. Johnson has been named general counsel emeritus and will continue supporting Tulane on select projects and transition matters.

For in-house lawyers, the U.S. government's temporary suspension—and subsequent restoration—of Anthropic's Claude Fable 5 highlights how legal teams are being called on earlier to help businesses evaluate, deploy and govern AI across the enterprise.

S&P Global Chief Legal Officer Steve Kemps will retire at the end of 2026 after a decade leading the company's legal function through transformative deals, including the recent Mobility spin-off, major acquisitions and a period of rapid strategic change.

"We're finding so many of our legal departments saying that their companies are being reactive and not proactive when it comes to responding to geopolitical issues," said Jason Brown, president and chief executive officer at the Association of Corporate Counsel.

More chief legal officers are leaving within just a few years of being hired, prompting questions about whether companies are selecting the wrong candidates—or preparing them for the wrong job. Legal leaders say the modern GC role requires far more than an impressive résumé.

"Knowing what problem you are solving should be the first step. Too many organizations are adopting AI to avoid being left behind, without analyzing whether the tools advance their goals," said one general counsel.

"We're at the doorstep of the token apocalypse. I wouldn't jump into any substantial AI workflows if you don't know what the token costs are, because the moment you get that thing into production, that's going to be a reality," said Mike Ferrara, managing director of legal operations consulting at FTI Consulting.

Research and advisory firm Gartner identified rising AI disputes and changing U.S. regulatory priorities as just two factors that will fundamentally change how legal departments operate and how general counsel contribute to their businesses.

New research from Harmonic Security, based on analysis of 1.9 million classified AI-session minutes across enterprise organizations, found legal and governance teams account for 19.5% of all AI use.