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Staying Ahead in 2026: Legal Trends and Insights You Should Know
Entering a new year often brings change, as businesses and individuals navigate a legal landscape shaped by regulatory developments, technological advancements, and evolving expectations. Each area of law presents its own considerations, and staying aware of emerging trends can support more informed, proactive decision-making. The following overview highlights key legal trends that may impact various industries in 2026, and offers perspective on what could lie ahead.
Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Businesses and legal teams are expected to continue grappling with the rapid and often unregulated use of generative AI, particularly “shadow AI” tools that can expose trade secrets and confidential information without users fully realizing the risks. At the same time, AI is increasingly becoming the “WebMD” for legal issues, with clients turning to AI to either do their legal work or check AI outputs against their attorneys, similar to how patients have long used WebMD to check information against their doctors. As reliance on these tools grows, AI hallucinations and inaccuracies are likely to become more prevalent, impacting both lawyers and the work clients rely on. Together, these developments are anticipated to shape how legal teams approach risk management, governance, and trust in AI-driven decision-making.
Construction
Owners, general contractors, and subcontractors are expected to face uncertainty tied to higher material costs and tariffs, along with labor shortages. Immigration enforcement may further affect labor supply, while increased competition in the region, including large national contractors entering the market, continues to pressure pricing and bidding decisions. Ongoing industry consolidation is also reshaping the construction landscape, as many traditionally local, “mom-and-pop” subcontractors and suppliers have been acquired by larger regional or national companies. These businesses often continue operating under familiar local names, making it less clear who the ultimate decision-makers are if disputes arise. Many contractors are pricing projects appropriately to account for these risks, only to lose bids and later be called back to perform lower-margin repair work. These dynamics, along with potential statutory changes affecting retainage, lien rights, and the state’s newer bidding process, are anticipated to influence how construction projects are structured and managed.
Estate Planning
Estate planning trends are expected to continue focusing on business succession planning for clients and families, including structuring businesses for the next generation or positioning a business for sale and planning for the resulting proceeds. At the same time, estate planning for baby boomers and their descendants remains a priority, with an emphasis on structuring effective wealth transfer and preparing the next generation to manage it responsibly. Asset protection planning, both for individuals and their families, is also anticipated to play a key role as families seek to safeguard assets across generations. These efforts are taking place during a period of historically high federal estate tax exemption levels, making estate and income tax planning an important consideration in long-term discussions.
Health Care
Health care organizations are expected to see continued growth of AI in health care, along with potentially conflicting state and federal regulatory efforts. The patchwork nature of AI regulation and federal-state conflicts will present occurring and new challenges. Ongoing strategic acquisition of physician groups is also anticipated, particularly among specialty practices with strong regional platforms and the ability to leverage technology such as AI and telehealth. There may be further turbulence in the health care market driven by federal policy shifts, potentially including tariffs, Medicaid and Medicare Advantage funding changes, and federal government restructuring. At the same time, expansion of consumer and health care privacy and security regulatory regimes at the state and federal levels is expected, potentially including HIPAA changes and new enforcement and attention on 42 CFR Part 2 at the federal level.
Intellectual Property (IP)
IP issues are expected to grow increasingly complex as artificial intelligence becomes more deeply integrated into creative and innovative processes, raising questions around ownership, patentability, and copyright protection for AI-generated content and inventions. At the same time, trade secret litigation is likely to remain a focus as employee mobility increases and remote work environments create new risks to confidential business information and proprietary data. Patent litigation and developments at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office are also anticipated to continue evolving, particularly in the technology sector, with ongoing refinement of eligibility standards under Section 101 and post-grant review procedures. These trends are accompanied by growing challenges for trademark owners in digital marketplaces and increased regulatory scrutiny of intellectual property enforcement, including customs actions and potential legislative changes affecting areas such as standard-essential patents and pharmaceutical innovation.
Litigation
Data breach and “forever chemicals” class action lawsuits are likely to remain active areas, with ongoing typical disputes centered on class certification, standing, and claims of injury or damages. At the same time, the growing use of AI by litigants and in the administration of the judicial system, including case management tools and predictive technologies, is raising new questions around accuracy, bias, and discrimination. These issues extend into mediation, arbitration, and trial proceedings, where AI-driven predictions, research hallucinations, and evidentiary concerns involving digital replicas and deepfakes present ongoing challenges for practitioners and tribunals.
Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A)
Middle-market M&A activity was uneven in 2025, but industry participants are cautiously optimistic heading into 2026. Private equity firms are expected to increase deployment of unspent capital, with a continued focus on add-on acquisitions and platform investments in recession-resistant sectors. At the same time, manufacturers are rapidly adopting AI and smart factory technologies to improve operations and products, a shift that is increasing cyber risk exposure and elevating the importance of strong cybersecurity measures and third-party risk management. These trends are unfolding against a backdrop of ongoing geopolitical tensions and evolving tariff policies, which are prompting manufacturers to diversify sourcing strategies and supply chains to strengthen resilience.
2026 Outlook
As legal changes continue to shape the year ahead, staying informed remains essential to managing risk and planning effectively. Understanding how developments may impact your operations can help you avoid surprises and support long-term business goals. If you have questions or would like to discuss how these developments may affect your business or organization, the Chambliss team can help you assess potential impacts and plan ahead.
