AI Governance and Use Across Defense Panels
Whether defense panels are keeping pace with an AI-enabled plaintiff bar, and whether claim organizations can govern how panel firms use AI.
49 senior claim and litigation executives
Our two 2025 Industry Snapshots looked at the plaintiff bar's rapid adoption of AI and what it means for how litigated claims are framed, anchored, and negotiated. Claim executives told us then, with little hesitation, that the plaintiff side was pulling ahead. The 2026 CLM Litigation Management Study amplified those concerns.
This November 2026 Industry Snapshot turns to our own side of the table: the defense firms on our panels. Those firms are now bringing AI into their practices, and that raises two questions for the claim organizations that hire them. Is this adoption closing the gap on the work that drives outcomes: case analysis, demand response, valuation, and negotiation? And is it happening in a way claim organizations can actually govern?
Claim files carry medical records, privileged communications, and confidential insured information. When each panel firm selects its own AI tools under its own policies, the claim organization inherits risks it often cannot see.
We asked claim executives five questions:
1. READINESS: Is your defense panel keeping pace with an increasingly AI-enabled plaintiff bar?
2. VALUE: If AI could make defense counsel more effective negotiators, which benefits matter most?
3. GOVERNANCE: How confident are you that your defense firms' use of AI meets your security and governance requirements?
4. STANDARDS: Would you support common panel standards, with preferential assignments for firms that meet them?
5. A COMMON PLATFORM: How interested would you be in a shared, secure AI platform for your panel firms, under your organization's control?
Forty-nine senior claim and litigation executives participated in this Industry Snapshot, which was open from November 4 to November 9, 2026. Given our selective invitation list and the short window, this response exceeded our expectations.
What we found
Panels are seen as behind. One executive of 49 described their panel as very well equipped to keep pace with the plaintiff bar. More than eight of 10 (82%) see a gap, and most of the rest cannot tell.
Governance exists mostly on paper. Two of three claim organizations (67%) cannot confirm how their defense firms use AI on claim files.
The status quo has no defenders. Not one executive wants panel firms to keep operating independently, and eight of 10 (80%) support common panel standards now.
Executives want AI aimed at outcomes. Earlier, more proactive settlement offers led all benefits, chosen by 84%.
Interest in a common platform is real but measured. 43% are interested now, and nine of 10 (90%) expressed some level of interest.
The full results of this Snapshot, including participant comments and our high-level observations, can be found here.