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2026 KPMG Global General Counsel Outlook

Legal’s next phase: enterprise impact at scale

Download the report for insights on how leading general counsel (GC) are evolving their role, operating model, and technology priorities to amplify enterprise impact.

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In an environment defined by speed, scale, and constant change, the role of the general counsel (GC) is entering a new phase. Today’s legal leaders are embedded in enterprise decision‑making—shaping strategy, enabling transformation, and strengthening governance. The result: Legal is increasingly viewed as a core enterprise capability that helps leaders move decisively and create long‑term value.

Legal teams are being pulled closer to the business because the decisions themselves are getting more complex and more interconnected. Legal insight is most valuable when it is provided at the business decision point, helping leaders weigh risk and opportunity as choices are being made.

Christian Athanasoulas

Head of KPMG Legal Services, KPMG US

Key findings

75%

of legal leaders are regularly asked to advise on nonlegal business issues—underscoring legal’s expanding enterprise role.

#1

operational priority for legal leaders over the next three years: understanding and implementing AI to strengthen governance and agility.

39%

cite regulatory volume and complexity as their biggest pressure, followed by expanding issues requiring legal input (36%) and faster demands for advice (31%).

82%

of GCs expect law firms to clearly explain how AI is used in their work—while two thirds expect a greater focus on technology enabled services.

What’s inside the report

A practical blueprint for expanding legal’s impact

In the report, you’ll learn how leading legal functions are:

1

Modernizing legal operations to increase consistency, speed, and scalability

2

Improving data visibility to inform decisions and strengthen governance

3

Optimizing workflows to reduce friction and free capacity for higher‑value work 

Legal teams are facing more work, tighter timelines, and little room to add headcount – all at a time when business clients expect more nuanced answers faster. That tension is forcing a rethink of how legal work is organized and delivered.

Tom Greenaway

Principal, KPMG Law US LLC, KPMG US

FAQ: Insights from the 2026 Outlook

Q: How is the role of the general counsel changing in modern enterprises?

A: The GC role is expanding from legal oversight into broader enterprise leadership. In our survey, 75 percent of legal leaders are regularly asked to advise on non‑legal business issues—reflecting deeper involvement in decision‑making across the organization.

Q: Why is AI the top operational priority for legal departments?

A: AI is emerging as a foundational capability for modern legal operations. The report finds that understanding and implementing AI is the #1 operational priority over the next three years—supporting improvements in workflow efficiency, data visibility, and governance.

Q: What do legal leaders expect from external partners as technology adoption increases?

A: Legal leaders are raising expectations for transparency and technology‑enabled delivery. The report finds 82 percent now expect external providers to clearly explain how AI is used in their work—while two‑thirds expect a greater focus on technology‑enabled services.

Q: What differentiates high-performing legal functions?

A: High‑performing leaders build operating models that embed legal insight earlier and more consistently into business decisions—supported by modern workflows, stronger data visibility, and fit‑for‑purpose technology.

2026 KPMG Global General Counsel Outlook

Download the full report for in-depth analysis on the evolving role of the general counsel and the strategic moves legal leaders should be making now.

About the research

Based on a global survey of 468 general counsel and senior legal leaders (fielded November 2025–February 2026) across 28 jurisdictions and multiple industries. 

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Image of Christian Athanasoulas
Christian Athanasoulas
Head of KPMG Legal Services, KPMG US
Read bio
Image of Christian Athanasoulas

Christian Athanasoulas

Head of KPMG Legal Services, KPMG US

Christian has been with KPMG LLP since 2000 and currently serves as Head of KPMG U.S. Legal Services, where he leads the strategic alignment of KPMG LLP’s Legal Business Services and KPMG Law US. He focuses on leading the growth and operations of the firm’s various tax services. His responsibilities span across federal, international, state and local tax, economic and valuation services, mergers and acquisitions tax, and global mobility services, which encompasses a team of nearly 9,000 partners and professionals. 

Christian is also the Latin America Regional Managing Principal, Americas Tax & Legal* where he leads the tax and legal strategy for the One Americas Initiative in Latin America. The tax and legal practices in Latin American include more than 150 partners and 2,500 professionals from member firms across 17 countries.

From 2012 through 2019 Christian served as the KPMG U.S. Principal‑in‑Charge of Tax for New England and Upstate New York. Before joining KPMG, Christian was a tax attorney in the Boston office of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, where he advised clients on the tax consequences of business transactions, drafted tax provisions of legal agreements, and represented clients in tax disputes with the IRS.

Christian’s background is in international tax and mergers and acquisitions tax. He advises corporations on the U.S. tax consequences of cross‑border business transactions. Christian has worked on transactions in more than 30 countries.

Christian is a frequent author on M&A tax and inbound investment tax issues. He has also spoken at a number of tax conferences though the United States, Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East. Christian was an adjunct professor of tax law at Villanova University Law School from 2005 to 2010.

Christian earned a BS degree in business administration and JD degree from Georgetown University. While attending law school, Christian served as a senior staff member of The Tax Lawyer. Christian also completed a program in comparative business policy at Oxford University in England, and earned his LLM degree in taxation from Boston University.

 

* All professional services are provided by the registered and licensed KPMG member firms of KPMG International. KPMG U.S. does not provide legal services, and these services are provided only by KPMG member firms in Latin America that are permitted to do so by law.

Image of Tom Greenaway
Tom Greenaway
Principal, KPMG Law US LLC, KPMG US

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