Perceptions of AI and Patterns of Use among Attorneys in Richmond, Virginia

This study examines how attorneys in Richmond, Virginia, perceive and use artificial intelligence (AI) within legal practice. As AI tools become further integrated in legal workflows, questions have emerged about accountability, transparency, bias, and professional responsibility in regards to AI. A mixed-methods approach was used to collect data from 32 legal professionals, and a semi-structured interview was conducted with a legal expert to evaluate patterns of AI use and perceptions of the existing regulatory framework. Findings indicate that AI has been moderately integrated into most legal practices through primarily low-risk tasks like document drafting and research, though general trust in large language model systems remains low. The study identifies patterns suggesting that attorneys selectively integrate AI based on perceived professional risk, relying on informal self-regulation in the absence of clear oversight. These findings contribute to the emerging research on behavioral responses to AI in legal practice and suggest the need for future studies examining how professional beliefs shape AI adoption patterns.