To safeguard corporate priorities, GC must navigate new regulatory, technology and operational uncertainties this year.
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General counsel must adapt quickly to drive impact
The legal landscape is shifting fast. General counsel (GC) are grappling with rapid changes in government policy, AI-driven emerging risks and evolving business expectations — all while navigating a volatile geopolitical and economic climate. As corporate legal teams take on more complex problems, the pressure is on to simplify regulatory processes, implement AI responsibly and efficiently scale legal operations.
Address legal complexity to enable business performance
A landscape of growing uncertainty is reshaping the way GC supports corporate and transactional needs. Three trends top the list of areas to focus on this year:
GC trend No. 1: Reduce regulatory complexity for the business
Businesses are up against a litany of legal, regulatory and sociopolitical disruptions in 2025. The heightened risk of geopolitical conflict brings with it corresponding supply chain risk. Growing nationalism and trade wars fragment the regulatory landscape. And rapid changes in government policy and social expectations leave employees politically polarized.
GC must support the business through this volatility. Addressing regulatory complexity can reduce business costs while helping the organization execute against strategic priorities — and 52% of legal and compliance leaders are prioritizing improving regulatory tracking and intelligence in 2025.
GC trend No. 2: Enable the right use of AI
Seventy percent of legal and compliance leaders say rapid AI adoption is a corporate priority. And experts have cataloged 700+ distinct AI risks, including those stemming from widespread corporate use of GenAI technologies, according to research coming out of MIT.
New third-party relationships, risks and contract terms driven by AI adoption create new challenges for GC and their teams. General counsel must not only provide firm, clear guidance for investing in, managing and governing new technologies, but also also build the processes that enable the right business uses of AI.
GC trend No. 3: Maximize legal operations’ ROI
As legal and regulatory risk becomes more integrated across the business, oversight duties regarding corporate officers; data and privacy regulations; environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure requirements; antitrust enforcement;and the volume of global litigation are all on the rise. To keep up, GC must maximize legal operations’ ROI. To do so, 66% of legal leaders plan to increase their spend on legal technology.
Unfortunately, only 29% are confident these technologies will improve legal scale or speed. To reap the desired productivity gains from investments, align new technologies with the processes, workplace requirements and beliefs that actually drive employee behavior.
2025 trends for general counsel FAQs
What are the biggest challenges facing general counsel in 2025?
General counsel (GC) are navigating increasing regulatory complexity, AI-driven risks, evolving business expectations and geopolitical uncertainty. They must balance legal risk mitigation with enabling business strategy while managing rising demand for legal services.
Where can general counsel find more insights on legal leadership in 2025?
The Gartner Leadership Vision for General Counsel 2025 report provides a deep dive into the challenges and opportunities facing legal leaders. It also offers actionable strategies to stay ahead.
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