AT&T has expanded its internal legal operations by using artificial intelligence to perform tasks previously handled by outside law firms. General Counsel David McAtee reported that the company has reduced the hours billed by law firm associates this year by shifting work to an in-house team supported by AI tools. The company also announced a new partnership with OpenAI on October 8, 2026, to develop chatbots and agents that can access more than a century of AT&T’s institutional legal knowledge.
The transition is led by LegalEdge, a 38-person internal team established in January 2026 that functions as an in-house law firm. The department includes attorneys, paralegals, and legal operations professionals who have taken over duties such as document review, legal research, witness interviews, and the production of first drafts. During its first six months, LegalEdge handled nearly 100 matters, including the renegotiation of naming rights for AT&T Stadium and a misleading advertising complaint against another carrier.
McAtee stated that AT&T currently relies on approximately 30 national law firms but expects that number to decrease to between 18 and 20 over the next two years. He noted that firms collaborating with the LegalEdge team and adopting AI will likely receive a larger share of the company's remaining legal work. While the company reports that thousands of hours of work have been shifted in-house, it stated that specific total cost savings are not yet available.
The shift affects junior associates at national law firms who have traditionally performed routine document review and research. AT&T’s reduction in outside counsel—potentially cutting its roster of 30 firms—demonstrates a change in how the corporation purchases legal services. While the company has not released a total dollar figure, the scale of the change is reflected in the thousands of hours now performed by a 38-person internal team rather than outside associates.
For legal professionals and students, the day-to-day change involves a move away from foundational tasks like drafting and fact-finding. Some law firm partners have reported that when clients provide AI-generated first drafts, the review process can sometimes take longer due to liability concerns, requiring senior lawyers to verify the work. William Ryan, AT&T’s chief compliance officer, noted that the company is now recruiting directly from law schools for in-house summer internships, offering a career path that bypasses the traditional law firm model for new graduates.
The effects include a potential disruption to the traditional training model for lawyers, as the work that helps junior attorneys build expertise is increasingly automated or insourced. This sets a precedent for other corporate legal departments to build their own AI-enabled infrastructure, potentially leading law firms to focus on high-level strategy and judgment. AT&T’s collaboration with OpenAI is active as of October 2026, and the company expects to continue consolidating its list of outside firms.