Relativity acquired Gavel, an AI-native legal technology company, on June 12, 2026, to integrate document drafting and automation directly into Microsoft Word. This move connects final legal work product, such as motions, briefs, and contracts, back to the underlying data and context within RelativityOne, closing a workflow gap where drafted documents historically remained disconnected from the case platform.
Integrating drafting into the existing workflow
RelativityOne serves as the system of action for organizing and analyzing evidence. Until now, the documents generated from that work required lawyers to switch contexts. With Gavel, work product generated by Relativity aiR for Case Strategy can be refined, routed for comments, and finalized directly in Microsoft Word, connecting legal AI to the Office Tools lawyers use daily.
Every edit, redline, and comment will sync back to the specific matter in RelativityOne. Chris Brown, Chief Product Officer at Relativity, said, "We would be taking the system of action that lawyers already rely on and extending it into the surfaces where they actually do the work."
The Gavel background and team
Gavel was founded by Dorna Moini, a former associate at Sidley Austin LLP, who initially built document automation tools for pro bono clients. The company grew into a platform used by legal teams across 28 countries for drafting, contract review, and redlining. Operating with contextual guidance grounded in legal norms, Gavel reflects the broader industry shift toward specialized AI for Legal solutions.
Chief Technology Officer Pierre Martin joined in 2022, bringing executive experience from Microsoft and Amazon. The entire Gavel team is now joining Relativity to help legal professionals work faster and with greater confidence.
Phil Saunders, CEO of Relativity, said, "This acquisition enhances our ability to support a wider arc of legal work, in the place where lawyers spend most of their time." Relativity intends to maintain Gavel's regular operations while gradually rolling out deeper platform integrations.
Why this matters for legal professionals
Attorneys spend the majority of their time drafting and editing in Microsoft Word. Moving between an e-discovery platform and a word processor traditionally created version control issues and severed the link to source data. By keeping edits synced to the RelativityOne matter, lawyers can maintain a single source of truth throughout the matter lifecycle without abandoning their preferred drafting environment.
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