Kirkland & Ellis commits $500 million to custom AI platform
Kirkland & Ellis, one of the world's largest law firms, will invest $500 million over three to four years to build its own generative AI platform. The firm will spend $100 million in 2026 and continue the investment through 2029.
The Chicago-based firm, which reported $10.6 billion in revenue last year, joins a growing number of law firms building custom AI tools rather than relying solely on third-party vendors. Kirkland said it would still license some external AI programs but declined to specify which generative AI model would underpin its platform.
The platform will be designed with input from 250 Kirkland lawyers and will involve more than 180 technology professionals inside and outside the firm.
Shift toward custom development
Law firms are increasingly demanding custom-built AI systems tailored to specific legal tasks and business operations. Andrew Johnson, chief information officer at Brownstein Hyatt, said the industry's view on custom development has changed dramatically. "Five years ago, there was an aversion to the idea of custom development," he said. "I would say that's largely not the case anymore."
Freshfields, a London-based firm, announced last month it would partner with Anthropic's legal team to develop AI applications for legal services.
Accuracy and liability concerns persist
Lawyers' growing reliance on AI carries significant risks. The technology frequently generates fabricated case citations, misquotes legal sources, and invents non-existent statutes.
U.S. judges have sanctioned lawyers in dozens of cases after they used AI for research or drafting without adequately reviewing the output. Sullivan & Cromwell, a Wall Street firm, apologized to a federal judge last month for submitting a court filing containing inaccurate citations and other errors produced by AI.
Data security remains another concern as firms process sensitive client information through AI systems.
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