State of the UK Consultant Market 2026

What’s really happening in the legal market right now?

We wanted to explore the work, the rates, the hot topics and, perhaps most importantly, how things are actually feeling out there among the Obelisk community.

Between May and July 2026, we asked lawyers and legal professionals across the Obelisk community to share their experience of today’s market. With just six questions and less than three minutes to complete, the survey was designed to get beyond assumptions and capture what’s happening on the ground: where demand is rising, what kinds of work are keeping lawyers busy, which issues are dominating the agenda, and how AI is beginning to shape the way legal work gets done.

The result is a snapshot of the market through the eyes of the people working in it every day. In this report, we explored what our community told us from the areas of legal work currently in demand to the emerging hot topics and technologies influencing the profession. The totality of their responses offer a timely perspective on where the market is today, and where it may be heading next.

About the Participants

The survey cohort represents a broad cross-section of experienced legal professionals, with a predominantly female respondent base (62% female and 38% male). In terms of age, almost two-thirds (64%) of respondents were aged 46–60, followed by 20% aged 31–45, 10% aged 21–31 and 6% aged over 60. The cohort was similarly experienced, with 45% identifying as Senior Lawyers with more than six years’ experience and 39% working in General Counsel (GC) roles. The remaining respondents comprised Junior Lawyers with less than three years’ experience (6%), Lawyers with three to six years’ experience (5%), Paralegals (4%) and Barristers (1%). Overall, the cohort provides a strong representation of established legal professionals, particularly those operating at senior and in-house levels.

10 Key Findings

1. The market has gone quiet

54% say demand is quieter than usual; only 6% say it’s busier than usual.

43 of 79 respondents describe current demand as quieter than usual, against just 5 who say busier than usual. A further 20% report a steady flow and 19% say things are picking up. Read together, roughly three in four are flat or down.

2. AI is the single dominant topic

64% of respondents named AI unprompted as a current hot topic or growth area.

Asked in open text what the current hot topics and areas of high demand are, 50 of 78 usable responses mentioned AI, AI regulation, the EU AI Act, or AI governance. No other theme came close: regulatory/compliance and data privacy were each mentioned by a handful, and specific topics like DORA, crypto regulation and the Iran-war trade impact appeared only once or twice each.

3. Commercial contracts remain the bread-and-butter work

77% did commercial contracts work in the last six months.

61 of 79 respondents listed Commercial Contracts among their recent work, well ahead of Regulatory & Compliance (33%), Data & Privacy (29%), M&A/Transactions (28%) and Finance & Banking (20%). Whatever the hot topic, the volume work consultants are billing for is still commercial and contracts work.

4. AI tool adoption is high but shallow, and generalist tools dominate

85% now use at least one AI tool; Microsoft Copilot leads at 42%.

67 of 79 respondents use at least one AI tool for legal work, but the tools they reach for are mainly general-purpose: Microsoft Copilot (42%), some flavour of ChatGPT (47% combined free/Plus), and some flavour of Claude (38% combined free/Pro). Legal-specific platforms lag well behind, with Lexis+ AI (15%), Harvey (10%) and Westlaw AI (5%).

5. One in seven consultants has not touched AI tools at all

15% (12 of 79) say “none yet.”

Adoption is not universal. A meaningful minority, disproportionately represented among older and more senior respondents in the free-text answers, have not adopted any AI tool.

6. Finding work is the number one concern, ahead of AI and ahead of rates

35% of concerns responses centred on securing work or pipeline.

Asked about their main concerns and priorities for the year, 23 of 65 usable responses were fundamentally about finding, securing or maintaining a pipeline of work (“1 get work 2 get work 3 get work,” “finding a permanent role,” “pipeline of work”). This outranks both AI-related concerns (31%) and rate pressure (15%) as a standalone theme, and lines up directly with Finding 1: the softer market is the dominant lived experience right now.

7. AI anxiety is real, but it splits into two distinct fears

31% raised AI unprompted as a concern, split between displacement and relevance.

Twenty of 65 concerns responses raised AI directly. These split roughly into two groups: fear of being displaced or undercut (“AI being preferred to lawyers,” “no work/becoming irrelevant professionally”) and a more constructive anxiety about keeping pace (“remaining relevant as AI advances,” “becoming an AI ‘expert user'”). Both point to the same commercial opportunity: consultants want structured AI upskilling, not just reassurance.

8. Rate pressure is a live and explicit concern, not just background noise

Downward pressure is directly named as main concern.

Among those who answered, day rates and hourly rates varied across a wide range, with the pressure on pricing coming through clearly in the numbers themselves. Several respondents pointed to a gradual downward trend in day rates as a factor shaping their outlook for the year ahead.

9. Engagement structure is mixed, with agency and direct close to even

Of those who answered: 55% via agency, 45% direct with client; 41% outside IR35, 33% inside.

There is no single dominant engagement route on this our consultants: 28 respondents work via agency against 23 direct with a client (among the 51 who answered). IR35 status is similarly split, with a further 25% unsure or saying not applicable.

10. The consultants answering this survey are senior, experienced and predominantly female

85% Senior Lawyer/GC; 76% aged 46+; 62% female.

This is not a junior or early-career population. 36 respondents describe themselves as Senior Lawyer (6+ years), 21 as General Counsel, and 10 as both; only 5 combined describe themselves as junior lawyer or paralegal. Three in four are 46 or older.

Conclusion

Taken together, the findings paint a picture of a legal market that is quieter, more competitive and changing quickly. Demand has softened for many consultants, making securing and maintaining a pipeline of work the clearest immediate concern, while rate pressure adds another layer of uncertainty.

At the same time, the nature of demand is evolving: commercial contracts remain the backbone of consultants’ workloads, but AI has emerged by a significant margin as the defining growth area and hot topic across the profession. AI adoption is already widespread, with most respondents using general-purpose tools such as ChatGPT, Claude and Microsoft Copilot, yet a meaningful minority have not adopted AI at all, and many of those who have are still at an early stage. This creates both anxiety and opportunity: lawyers are thinking about the risk of becoming less relevant, while also recognising the need to build practical AI skills.

Against this backdrop, the consultant market itself remains diverse, with a relatively even split between agency and direct engagements and a range of engagement structures. Ultimately, the survey captures an experienced, senior cohort navigating a market where traditional legal expertise remains highly valuable, but adaptability, commercial awareness and confidence with new technology are becoming increasingly important to staying competitive.

Methodology

The survey was administered online and distributed primarily through Obelisk’s internal network of legal consultants. To broaden participation beyond the existing consultant community, the survey was also made available through the Obelisk website and promoted via social media, allowing other legal consultants and professionals within the wider community to participate. The responses collected between May and July 2026 form the basis of the findings presented in this report.