Artificial intelligence is disrupting the market for legal services for large public companies such as Ford Motor Co. What isn’t yet clear is whether external counsel or corporate in-house teams will harness AI most effectively—not just as a tool but as a surrogate legal service provider.

I write to draw your increased attention to this shift and to solicit robust innovation from law firms as the market for legal services undergoes imminent rapid change. Our continuing in-house innovation with AI will inevitably lead to raised expectations for our external counsel—and for ourselves.