Irish Lawyers: 18 Weeks Lost to Non-Billable Work & Burnout Crisis | LEAP Report 2026

Irish lawyers are losing the equivalent of nearly 17.5 weeks of work each year – almost 88 full working days – to non-billable tasks, according to a new report released Monday.

The Profitability in Law: Global Report 2026, compiled by LEAP Legal Software in collaboration with Agile Market Intelligence, surveyed 700 legal professionals across six countries, including the United Kingdom and Ireland. The findings reveal a significant strain on the Irish legal profession, despite 69% of lawyers in Ireland and Britain reporting increased profitability over the past 12 months.

The report identifies pricing pressure as the largest obstacle to increased profitability, cited by 51% of respondents. A further 41% indicated a need to reduce expenses. Operational inefficiencies are as well a major concern, with 43% of lawyers attributing delays to the use of too many disparate systems, 41% citing limited access to artificial intelligence (AI) tools for document review and research, and 40% pointing to excessive manual administrative work.

Despite the financial gains reported by many firms, the study highlights a pervasive “wellbeing crisis” within the profession. A substantial 85% of lawyers in Ireland and Britain reported experiencing burnout, while 84% identified staff turnover as a significant issue. Nearly 40% of firms reported insufficient staff capacity, and 13% indicated a lack of adequate support staff.

The report suggests that technology, particularly AI, is beginning to offer some relief. 79% of lawyers surveyed stated their firms were already realizing moderate or significant time savings through the use of AI, with 33% utilizing it for document review and 26% for drafting and document generation. A strong majority – 88% – expressed trust in legal technology providers to integrate AI tools responsibly and safely.

However, adoption of technology aimed at reducing administrative burdens remains relatively low, with only 16% of respondents reporting investment in this area. Just 35% of firms have prioritized improvements to technology and tools overall. A significant barrier to growth remains the lack of AI tools capable of identifying opportunities or automating client outreach, cited by 40% of respondents. Lawyers evaluating AI tools prioritize speed and accuracy equally, with each factor cited by 40% of those surveyed.

Shane Branagan, CEO at LEAP Ireland, emphasized the importance of minimizing non-billable hours. “Time not earning is time that could be spent doing almost anything else,” he said. “What is encouraging is that the advent of AI is changing this reality and fast, already delivering real time savings for the firms that have adopted the right tools. The challenge now is closing the gap between those firms and the ones yet to act – spreading the benefits and clawing back precious time.”