Five Takeaways from The Economist General Counsel Summit 2026 in New York

By Titus Rahiri, CEO and Founder, KorumLegal

Last week I had the pleasure of joining The Economist's fifth annual General Counsel Summit in New York, where more than 500 General Counsels, Chief Legal Officers and senior legal professionals came together to discuss the forces shaping the in-house legal function. It was a valuable few days of conversation, and while the agenda covered a lot of ground, a handful of themes stood out clearly and are worth sharing with our clients and network across Asia Pacific and EMEA.

1. AI is front and centre, but leadership still matters most

Unsurprisingly, AI dominated much of the discussion, yet what struck me was how often the conversation returned to the human side of the equation. Productivity gains are real and important, but the GCs I spoke with were equally focused on leadership, governance, judgment and change management, recognising that the value of any technology depends on how well teams adopt it, oversee it and apply sound judgment to its outputs. The legal functions that get the most from AI will be those that invest as much in their people and processes as they do in the tools themselves.

2. US politics is shaping markets and regulation well beyond America

With the Midterm elections fast approaching, US politics continues to drive market and regulatory responses around the world. For organisations operating in EMEA and APAC, the ripple effects are impossible to ignore, whether that shows up in trade policy, regulatory direction or shifts in investor sentiment. Legal teams outside the US would be well served by keeping a close eye on developments over the coming months and considering how they might affect their own businesses.

3. Optimism, tempered with caution

The overall mood among GCs was positive and optimistic, which was encouraging to see. That said, there was a cautious recognition that there may be some turbulent waters ahead, and a shared view that agility and adaptability are now must-haves for legal teams rather than nice-to-haves. This is a theme we have been exploring closely at KorumLegal through our work on the Agility Margin, and it was reassuring to hear it echoed so strongly by legal leaders in the US.

4. The Legal AI market is crowded and maturing fast

Nearly every major Legal AI company appeared to be sponsoring the Summit, which says a great deal about how competitive and fast-maturing that market has become. For GCs, this brings both opportunity and complexity, since more choice also means more effort is needed to evaluate vendors, avoid lock-in and choose solutions that genuinely fit the way their teams work. It reinforces our belief that an AI-agnostic approach, focused on outcomes rather than any single platform, gives legal functions the flexibility they need as the market continues to evolve.

5. Legal takes centre court

On a lighter note, I managed to sneak in some time at the US Open tennis while I was in town, and was surprised to see a legal company as a major sponsor on centre court at a grand slam. I suspect that may be a first, and it is a small but telling sign of how much the legal industry's profile and ambitions have grown.

Looking ahead

Events like The Economist General Counsel Summit are a great reminder that, whatever the market or jurisdiction, legal leaders are grappling with many of the same questions around technology, uncertainty and how to build teams that can adapt. If you would like to discuss any of these themes, or explore how KorumLegal can help your legal function become more agile and resilient, we would be delighted to hear from you.