Trust in Legal AI Grows with Experience, American Arbitration Association® and Jus Mundi Study Finds

Survey of 557 U.S. arbitration professionals sees optimism that AI can absorb routine tasks and free lawyers and arbitrators to focus on higher-order tasks.

NEW YORK, Sept. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Arbitration professionals who regularly use AI report significantly greater trust in the technology than those who do not, even as concerns about accuracy, confidentiality, and other risks remain, according to The State of AI in U.S. Arbitration 2026, released by the American Arbitration Association (AAA^®) and Jus Mundi.

Based on a survey of 557 U.S. arbitration professionals, The State of AI in U.S. Arbitration 2026 examines how attitudes toward AI change with experience and how the technology is reshaping legal work. The study finds that, as practitioners gain experience with AI, their understanding of its risks becomes more defined, with greater focus on issues encountered in practice. It also points to a shift in legal work, with survey respondents expecting AI to take on more routine tasks while placing greater value on human legal judgment, expertise, and advocacy.

"The more legal professionals work with AI tools, the better they understand their capabilities, where they can deliver value, and what is needed to use them effectively and responsibly," said Linda Beyea, AAA group vice president. "These findings reinforce what we have seen in our AI governance research: organizations that use AI extensively grow more confident in their ability to use the technology responsibly."

"This research gives the arbitration field something it hasn't had before: an empirical starting point," said Annie Lespérance, Head of Americas, Jus Mundi. "The data doesn't tell a simple story of adoption or resistance; it reveals a community thinking carefully about where AI belongs in practice and asking for the guidance and tools to move forward responsibly."

Key Findings
Experience Builds Trust and Changes the AI Risk Conversation
Greater experience with AI is associated with greater trust, with daily users reporting a 3.42 out of 5 trust score compared with 0.83 among non-users. Experience also changes the nature of practitioners' concerns: ethical concerns are more prevalent among non-users, while regular users focus more on issues such as confidentiality and protecting sensitive information.

Accuracy remains the leading concern, with 78% of respondents citing inaccuracies and hallucinations, regardless of AI experience.

AI Is Changing Legal Work and Skills Lawyers Need
Respondents expect AI to absorb more labor-intensive work, including document review (51%), proofreading and cite-checking (47%), timeline creation (43%), and legal research (40%), while 52% expect strategic judgment to become more valuable.

The shift could be particularly significant for younger lawyers. As AI takes on more routine work, higher-level skills could become important earlier in lawyers' careers. Still, half of respondents reported little to no concern about AI replacing aspects of their role, while only 13% reported high concern.

Earlier Career Practitioners Are Leading AI Adoption
AI use varies significantly by career stage. More than half of respondents with fewer than three years of experience use AI daily or weekly, with fewer than 5% ruling out future adoption. Among respondents with 15 or more years of experience, however, regular usage falls below 30%, and nearly 24% of that group say they do not plan to adopt AI.

The findings point to a generational shift in AI adoption, with practitioners early in their legal careers using the technology more frequently and expressing greater openness to continued use.

Practitioners Welcome More Guidance
As AI adoption advances, respondents identified institutional guidelines and best practices (30%) and arbitration-specific AI tools (24%) as the top priorities for accelerating responsible adoption. Lower costs and demonstrated ROI ranked near the bottom.

The study also found that firm size alone does not determine who is realizing value from AI. Sixty-six percent of boutique-firm respondents reported significant time savings, compared with 50% at global firms and 51% at mid-size firms, suggesting organizational agility may play an important role in AI adoption.

The State of AI in U.S. Arbitration 2026 is available here.

About the American Arbitration Association
The American Arbitration Association is the largest provider of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) services in the world. Marking its centennial in 2026, the American Arbitration Association has transformed how legal issues are resolved for better since 1926, turning disputes worldwide into opportunities for understanding and progress. A not-for-profit organization, the American Arbitration Association's mission is to deliver ADR services with integrity, transparency, and innovation. For more information, visit www.adr.org/.  

About Jus Mundi
Founded in 2019 and recognized as a mission-led company, Jus Mundi is a pioneer in the legal technology industry dedicated to powering global justice through artificial intelligence. Headquartered in Paris, with additional offices in New York, London and Singapore, Jus Mundi serves over 150,000 users from law firms, multinational corporations, governmental bodies, and academic institutions in more than 90 countries. Through its proprietary AI technology, Jus Mundi provides global legal intelligence, data-driven arbitration professional selection, and business development services.

About the AAA-ICDR Institute™ 
The AAA-ICDR Institute is the "think and do tank" of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). We shape the future of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) through applied research, partnerships, and strategic initiatives. The AAA-ICDR Institute generates pioneering insights and develops practical, evidence-informed solutions involving AI, access to justice, and court-connected ADR that advance fair, efficient, and accessible systems for resolving disputes.

SOURCE American Arbitration Association