Best AI Training for Law Firms (2026)
Compare the best AI training for law firms in 2026, from CLE courses and legal AI academies to hands-on cohorts. Format, CLE, price and fit for your firm.
Posted November 5, 2026
Table of Contents
Quick answer: For credit-bearing basics, use CLE from the ABA or Practising Law Institute. For a university credential, Berkeley Law's Generative AI for the Legal Profession. For a specific legal AI tool, its vendor academy, such as Harvey Academy or LexisNexis. For Copilot rollout help, a legal tech consultancy like Affinity. For firm-wide, hands-on building by lawyers and staff with a before-and-after measure, Leland.
Leland publishes this list and is one of the options in it. We evaluated every program on the same criteria below, noted where others are stronger, and listed sources at the end.
How we evaluated these programs
- Hands-on building: do attorneys and staff leave with working workflows on their own matters?
- Live support: is there live instruction and help when people get stuck?
- Legal fit: does it address research, drafting, review and the ethics rules that govern them?
- CLE: does it carry credit?
- Firm-level rollout and measurement: can the whole firm go through it, and can leaders see what changed?
- Tool independence: does it teach skills that work beyond one vendor's product?
AI training for law firms at a glance
| Program | Format | CLE | Price (public) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Practising Law Institute (PLI) | On-demand CLE, firm strategy course, AI competency framework | Yes | Strategy course free for Privileged Members | Firms already on PLI membership |
| Berkeley Law: GenAI for the Legal Profession | Self-paced, about 8 hours over 4 weeks, optional live sessions | 6.5 California MCLE hours | $950; $655 per person for groups of 10+ | A university-branded credential |
| Harvey Academy | On-demand courses and certification | Not stated | Foundational certification free | Firms using Harvey |
| LexisNexis AI Prompt Essentials | Two short on-demand modules and a badge | Not stated | Free | A fast prompting basics course |
| ABA Learning Center AI CLE | One-hour on-demand webinars | About 1 hour each | Free for ABA members | Meeting tech or ethics CLE requirements |
| Affinity Consulting Group | Consulting-led implementation and training | No | Not listed | Copilot and Microsoft 365 rollouts |
| Leland | Live expert-led cohorts, TA per person, assessment before and after | Not listed | Quoted per transformation build | Firm-wide, hands-on building with proof |
Pricing and features verified November 2026.
Why AI training matters for law firms now
Lawyers are using AI faster than firms are governing it. Clio's 2025 Legal Trends Report found 79% of legal professionals use AI, while 53% said their firm has no AI policy or they do not know of one. Clio's 2026 solo and small firm research found 71% of solos and 75% of small firms use AI for legal work, but fewer than a third report a revenue increase from it, compared with nearly 60% of large firms. Thomson Reuters found only 22% of professionals work at an organization with a defined AI strategy, and those that have one are twice as likely to see AI-driven revenue growth.
The difference between dabbling and results is usually structured training on approved tools, tied to the work the firm actually does.
The 7 best AI training programs for law firms
Practising Law Institute (PLI)
Best for: mid-size and large firms already using PLI for CLE.
PLI offers a broad AI CLE catalog, a six-module "Building a Law Firm AI Strategy" course for firm leaders built with the AAA, and "The AI-Ready Lawyer," a competency framework with 20 competencies across three proficiency levels.
- Strength: an accredited CLE provider, plus a recognized yardstick for AI skills.
- Limitation: lecture and on-demand formats, aimed more at understanding than at hands-on building.
Berkeley Law Executive Education: Generative AI for the Legal Profession
Best for: individual lawyers and small teams who want a university credential.
A self-paced program of nine modules, about eight hours over four weeks, with optional live sessions and 6.5 California MCLE hours. The curriculum covers research, drafting, governance and evaluation, grounded in the ABA Model Rules.
- Strength: a rigorous, well-designed curriculum from a top law school.
- Limitation: an annual cohort (the 2026 cohort is closed), built for individuals rather than firm-specific workflows.
Harvey Academy
Best for: firms already using or evaluating Harvey.
On-demand videos, courses and webinars, with a free "AI for Legal Basics" certification and role-based modules announced in January 2026.
- Strength: built by practitioners and tied to a leading legal AI platform.
- Limitation: focused on one tool, and self-paced.
LexisNexis AI Prompt Essentials
Best for: any lawyer or paralegal who wants a free, quick start.
Two short on-demand modules on how large language models work and how to prompt them, with a certification badge, launched in June 2026.
- Strength: free and fast, from a trusted legal brand.
- Limitation: covers prompting only and leans toward LexisNexis tools.
ABA Learning Center AI CLE
Best for: individual attorneys meeting technology or ethics CLE requirements.
One-hour on-demand webinars on topics like generative AI prompting for law practice, free for ABA members along with hundreds of other CLE programs.
- Strength: free with membership, credit-bearing and ethics-aware.
- Limitation: one-hour talks, with no hands-on practice, cohort or measurement.
Affinity Consulting Group
Best for: small and mid-size firms rolling out Microsoft 365 Copilot.
A legal technology consultancy that provides implementation and training on generative AI and Copilot for law firms and legal departments.
- Strength: deep law firm technology experience.
- Limitation: a consulting engagement rather than a structured curriculum with a before-and-after assessment.
Leland
Best for: firms of 30 to 300 people that want attorneys and staff building on their own matters, with proof.
Leland's AI Transformation Platform starts with a 7 minute AI assessment for every employee, moves teams through five levels of expert-led guided builds on function-specific work, then re-assesses to prove what moved. Each person has a dedicated TA, partners and practice leaders get coaching and consulting, and everyone gets a content library of hundreds of demos and blueprints, filterable by department. Cohorts are taught on the tools your firm has approved, so confidential matter data stays where it belongs.
- Strength: attorneys, paralegals and staff leave with working workflows for intake, research summaries and drafting, and leaders see the before-and-after change.
- Limitation: CLE is not listed, pricing is quoted rather than published, and it is not a legal-only program.
Top AI use cases in law firms
The Litify State of AI in Legal report ranked the most common uses:
- Legal research (66%)
- Summarizing case histories and records (39%)
- Document drafting, review and analysis (36%)
Contract review and client correspondence round out the list, and the most-used general tools are ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot and Gemini.
What ethics rules apply to AI in law firms?
The ABA's Formal Opinion 512 (July 2024) sets out how existing rules apply to generative AI:
- Competence (Rule 1.1): lawyers need a reasonable understanding of each tool's capabilities and limits, and must verify outputs.
- Confidentiality (Rule 1.6): assess disclosure risk before entering client information; informed consent may be required.
- Communication (Rule 1.4): disclosing AI use to clients may be required in some circumstances.
- Supervision (Rules 5.1 and 5.3): firms must set policies, train staff and vet vendors.
- Fees (Rule 1.5): fees must be reasonable, and clients should not be billed for time spent learning AI.
The supervision rule makes training a firm responsibility, not just an individual choice.
How to choose the right AI training for your firm
- Set policy first. Decide which tools are approved for client data before anyone trains.
- Cover CLE separately if you need to. Credit-bearing webinars and a hands-on program can work together.
- Prioritize building on real matters. Ask whether people will leave with workflows for your intake, research and drafting.
- Include staff, not just attorneys. Paralegals and operations staff often see the biggest time savings.
- Measure the change. Baseline every team, then re-assess.
FAQ
What is the best AI training for lawyers? For CLE and ethics, the ABA or PLI. For a credential, Berkeley Law. For firm-wide, hands-on building with measurement, a live cohort program such as Leland.
Do AI courses count for CLE? Many do, including ABA and PLI programs and Berkeley Law's course. Credit varies by state.
Can lawyers use ChatGPT ethically? Yes, if they follow ABA Formal Opinion 512: understand the tool, protect confidentiality, verify outputs and bill reasonably. Firm-approved enterprise tools reduce the risk.
Should paralegals get AI training too? Yes. Under Rule 5.3, firms are responsible for supervising non-lawyer staff, and staff often handle the most automatable work.
How long does AI training take for a law firm? From a one-hour CLE to about eight hours for Berkeley's course. A Leland level takes about six weeks: two weeks live, then async.
Related reading
- Best AI Training for Accounting Firms (2026)
- Best AI Training for Wealth Management (2026)
- Leland vs. General Assembly (2026): Compared
Sources: PLI and AAA AI strategy course, PLI AI competency framework, Berkeley Law GenAI for the Legal Profession, Harvey Academy, LexisNexis AI Prompt Essentials, ABA Learning Center, Affinity Consulting Group, Clio Legal Trends 2025, Law360 on Clio 2026 small firm report, Thomson Reuters Future of Professionals 2025, Litify State of AI in Legal via Wisconsin Law Journal, ABA Formal Opinion 512 via LawNext. Leland figures from Leland's 2026 program data.
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