79% of In-House Legal Leaders Concerned About Elevated Risk Due to Unprecedented Regulatory, Policy, and Business Uncertainty

98% are increasing budgets to mobilize teams to address complex DEI, AI, trade, cybersecurity, and other challenges

NEW YORK—March 25, 2025—In-house legal departments are actively mobilizing against a “perfect storm” of policy, economic, and business disruptions, with 79% of legal team leaders saying they’re facing elevated risk, and 41% reporting their organizations are confronting “high” or “extremely high” legal risk.

That’s according to Mobilizing for Uncertainty: How In-House Legal Leaders Are Responding to 2025’s Policy, Economic, and Business Shockwaves, a survey of 205 U.S. GCs, DGCs, and CLOs at global companies across 19 industries with revenues of $500M to over $10B, polled by InsightDynamo in March on behalf of Axiom. The “flash” survey reveals a profession under intensifying pressure, with 74% of respondents reporting they’re concerned about maintaining team effectiveness if the pace of change accelerates, and 16% already reporting diminished team effectiveness.

Legal risk perception was consistent across different-sized organizations, indicating the widespread nature of the current uncertainty. Companies with revenues of $5-$9 billion reported the highest rates of “extremely high risk.” Companies with revenues of $10 billion or more were significantly less likely to classify their risk as “moderate,” suggesting larger organizations have more polarized risk perceptions.

“The survey data presents a clear picture of the current legal landscape,” said Ashlin Quirk, Senior VP and General Counsel of Axiom. “With 79% of legal leaders reporting elevated risk levels, we're observing a pragmatic response across the profession. What's particularly noteworthy is not just the substantial budget increases—with 98% of departments expanding their resources—but how those funds are being allocated. Legal leaders are strategically redirecting investments toward technology solutions and alternative legal service providers to address specialized needs in AI regulation, cybersecurity, and other complex areas. This represents a meaningful evolution in how legal departments are structured to manage risk in today's environment.”

The full report, Mobilizing for Uncertainty: How In-House Legal Leaders Are Responding to 2025’s Policy, Economic, and Business Shockwaves, reveals three primary findings:

1. Multiple Converging Disruptions: Legal leaders identified DEI requirement changes (50%), AI regulation and compliance (43%), cybersecurity and data privacy (43%), and trade policy shifts (42%) as creating the most significant workload increases. These disruptions are exacerbated by in-house resource gaps in precisely these areas.
2. Widespread Budget Increases: Nearly all respondents (98%) reported increasing their legal department budgets for 2025, with 47% implementing moderate increases (10-25%) and 26% making significant increases exceeding 25%.
3. Multi-Pronged Response Strategy: Legal departments are deploying a comprehensive approach that includes implementing legal technology solutions (45%), increasing outside counsel spending (42%), leveraging alternative legal service providers (41%), and hiring additional full-time employees (37%).
   

The survey also uncovered a significant shift in how legal departments measure success during uncertain times, with business unit satisfaction (58%), risk mitigation effectiveness (57%), and cost management (52%) emerging as the top three success metrics.

“This moment represents both a challenge and an opportunity for in-house legal teams,” Quirk said. “The research shows top legal leaders at global organizations are using a similar playbook to mobilize their teams and mitigate risk during these uncertain times. They’re strategically investing in technology, talent, and flexible talent resourcing models to ensure they emerge as more valued, agile, and effective business partners—and that their companies remain resilient.”

The full flash report, Mobilizing for Uncertainty: How In-House Legal Leaders Are Responding to 2025’s Policy, Economic, and Business Shockwaves, is available without charge at https://www.axiomlaw.com/resources/articles/mobilizing-uncertainity-inhouse-legal. Organizations can request a copy of the raw data as an Excel spreadsheet by contacting richard.levin@axiomlaw.com.

Axiom is also hosting a related Mobilizing for Uncertainty webinar series that kicks off on April 16th at 2:00 p.m. Eastern time. The webinar series will focus on key policy and societal changes, and their implications for legal specifically. How can in-house counsel navigate a landscape that seems to shift daily? Each webinar episode will provide actionable insights and strategies to help legal teams mitigate risks and seize new opportunities. Reserve your virtual seat now at https://www.axiomlaw.com/webinar/mobilizing-for-uncertainty

For more information or to talk to an Axiom representative, visit https://www.axiomlaw.com. For more information about Axiom, please visit our website, hear from our experts on the Inside Axiom blog, network with us on LinkedIn, and subscribe to our YouTube channel. 

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About Axiom
Axiom invented the alternative legal services industry 25 years ago and now serves more than 3,500 legal departments globally, including 75% of the Fortune 100 who place their trust in Axiom, with 95% client satisfaction. Axiom gives small, mid-market, and enterprise clients a single trusted provider who can deliver a full spectrum of legal solutions and services across more than a dozen practice areas and all major industries at rates up to 50% less than national law firms. To learn how Axiom can help your legal departments do more for less, visit axiomlaw.com.