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Law firms form a Global Legal Tech Alliance
As we discussed during our coverage of Legalweek this year, law firms are increasingly creating their own bespoke legal technology to enhance efficiency, reduce client costs, and gain competitive advantages.
While many buy off-the-shelf tools, high-performing firms are now investing in custom AI workflows, firm-specific document automation, and case management systems to meet their unique practice needs.
23 April 2026 (New York, NY) – Several international law firms, including Hogan Lovells, have formed a global legal tech alliance to foster innovation and collaboration as noted in a press release yesterday.
Other law firms in the alliance are:
- southeast Asia-based Tilleke & Gibbins
- New York City-based Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft LLP
- Czech Republic-based Havel & Partners
- Sweden-based Moll Wendén
There are a total of 15 law firms in the initial membership.
As noted in the press release, and an interview with a representative of Hogan Lovells, the alliance addresses a gap in the market: while firms across jurisdictions face similar challenges in adopting AI and legal technology, there has been no structured, law-firm-led platform for tackling them collectively.
The Global Legal Tech Alliance aims to change that through:
- shared standards
- joint development of solutions for complex legal workflows using existing “best of breed” vendors, but then developing proprietary systems
- dedicated training through the Global Legal Tech Alliance Academy.
Through the Global Legal Tech Alliance Academy, member firms will:
- access shared training resources and development programmes for legal professionals at all levels
- provide a regular platform for peer exchange on emerging technology and legal operations
While the Global Legal Tech Alliance Strategic Forum brings together senior leadership for longer-term dialogue on the direction of legal tech and its implications for the profession.
The alliance is built on the idea that only law firms are best placed to drive innovation in this sector, holding high quality data, having a deep understanding of legal issues, and adhering to high ethical standards of practice. It is aimed at providing the best possible, tech-enabled legal advice to clients.
In the Hogan Lovells related press release, Sebastian Lach, a Hogan Lovells partner, said:
“The Global Legal Tech Alliance allows us to put innovations into practice faster than ever, while also creating a one-of-a-kind learning ecosystem for legal professionals to grow and thrive. By joining the Global Legal Tech Alliance, Hogan Lovells becomes part of a global network of leading law firms seeking to actively shape the future of legal services through technology, cooperation, innovation, and shared expertise”.
This also relates to my story yesterday on how the elite law firm Sullivan & Cromwell admitted to AI “hallucinations” in its pleadings because its attorneys blindly used ChatGPT without doing any cross-checking of the citations.
Law firms have realized you need a custom LLM stack, trained to your legal IP and with total control over the prompts, tool calls, and measured outputs. There are primitive versions out there (examples include Dentons “fleetAI”, Gunderson Dettmer “ChatGD”, and Troutman Pepper “Athena”) so it is why Anthropic plans to issue a legal industry-specific LLM/chatbot by the end of this year.
The economics of legal tech have changed, with proprietary AI tools proving more cost-effective long-term by optimizing workflows and reducing reliance on manual, high-cost labor. Law firms are increasingly creating their own proprietary legal technology, particularly in the realm of generative AI, to gain a competitive advantage, enhance data security, and tailor tools to their specific expertise.
While buying software was previously the standard, the shift toward building bespoke solutions has become a strategic necessity for firms in 2026 to protect their intellectual property and optimize workflows.
And so firms are creating private, sandboxed AI chatbots that allow them to use AI without feeding confidential client data into public models.
Firms are training AI models on their own “internal brain,” including confidential firm documents, past case outcomes, and internal communications, allowing tools to mimic the firm’s specific legal style.
