Linklaters launches custom AI team to build tools for clients
Linklaters has established a dedicated team of three data scientists and three lawyers to develop AI tools tailored to client needs that commercial software cannot address. The unit, called Applied Intelligence, will focus on legal tasks requiring large-scale data analysis and processing.
The firm will charge clients fixed fees for developing these tools rather than billing by the hour - a shift from traditional law firm pricing. Tom Quoroll, partner and co-founder of Applied Intelligence, said the team aims to "solve challenges that are otherwise intractable and deliver solutions more rapidly and with more assurance than other approaches."
What the team will build
Applied Intelligence will develop software for tasks such as scanning bank compliance records for regulatory gaps and evaluating thousands of claim forms in litigation to identify the strongest cases. The tools will draw on technology from Legora, OpenAI, Google, Anthropic's Claude, and Linklaters' own data platform.
The team will work alongside existing practice groups within the firm to identify client problems and design solutions.
Part of broader AI strategy
This move reflects how large law firms now view AI as both an efficiency tool and a revenue stream. In December, Linklaters created a separate 20-person team focused on deploying AI across the firm itself, identifying which processes could benefit from automation.
Ryan O'Leary, research director at IDC, called the approach "relatively novel" for a law firm. "Combining legal expertise and engineering expertise to bring narrowly tailored tooling to clients will be very intriguing," he said.
Linklaters is not alone. Last month, Freshfields and Anthropic announced a joint agreement to develop legal AI tools for potential sale to other law firms.
For legal professionals looking to understand how AI fits into practice, AI for Legal covers the core applications in research, document review, and compliance. Those in paralegal roles may find the AI Learning Path for Paralegals directly relevant to the document analysis and litigation support tasks Linklaters' new team will automate.
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