From AI Pilots to AI Operations: Why 2026’s Real Legal AI Divide Is Between Firms That Can Measure Matter-Level ROI and Firms That Can’t

The 2026 legal-AI story is shifting from “which tool do we buy?” to “can we run it in production and prove it worked?” AI advisory partnerships and Chief AI Officer appointments mark the end of the pilot era. The firms pulling ahead can measure AI's impact at the matter level — and that's an accounting question, not an AI one.