Law firm Cleary buys legal tech company in AI bid
March 17 (Reuters) - Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton has acquired a legal technology company, a rare move as large law firms race to invest in generative artificial intelligence.
Cleary acquired Springbok AI, a London-founded consultancy and company that develops technology products for lawyers, and that has previously partnered with other law firms. New York-founded Cleary said the addition of Springbok's team will help the firm build its own AI tools.
Springbok and Cleary did not disclose the deal's financial terms.
Artificial intelligence has captured the attention of law firms and the legal industry broadly, with promises to speed up tasks and change the way that lawyers work.
Sixty-three percent of lawyers surveyed by Reuters' parent company Thomson Reuters last year said they have used AI for work, and 12% said they use it regularly. Thomson Reuters also markets AI tools for lawyers.
Cleary managing partner Michael Gerstenzang said in a statement that the deal "immediately enables us to create custom AI-powered solutions — something that sets us apart from many of our competitors."
It is not common for law firms to acquire technology companies, legal industry consultants said, with many instead contracting with outside vendors and working to build their own internal AI capabilities.
"It's extremely rare" for law firms to make technology company acquisitions, said Joe Borstein, a partner at Baretz+Brunelle and co-founder of legal technology accelerator LexFusion. Law firms generally "don't have a vision of what they can do with embedded technology," he said.
Cleary as part of the deal is bringing on Springbok AI's co-founder and CEO Victoria Albrecht and 10 data scientists and AI engineers who will form a new team at the firm.
"We are bypassing the time that it would take to build this team by hand," Ilona Logvinova, director of practice innovation at Cleary, told Reuters.
Legal experts said law firms have faced challenges attracting talent to create their own internal technology tools.
"Building data science and AI teams in law firms is not easy," said Daniel Linna, director of law and technology initiatives at Northwestern University's law and engineering schools.
Logvinova, who joined Cleary about a year ago from McKinsey, said the new team will focus on building AI for the firm's internal use to meet client needs. The firm also has a technology subsidiary, called ClearyX that works on projects directly with clients.
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