Big Tech and the biggest law firms are moving from experimenting with AI to owning it. Microsoft has launched a legal vertical, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader has signed with both Harvey and Legora, and Freshfields is weighing a spin-out of its AI unit. Meanwhile, UK courts are setting limits on AI use, and European legal AI startups are drawing fresh investment.
Top story: Microsoft launched Copilot for Legal with 20+ legal skills, becoming the fourth AI giant in five months to build a legal vertical.
Microsoft launches Copilot for Legal, challenging specialist legal AI vendors
LawSites (Bob Ambrogi) · Tools
Microsoft launched Copilot for Legal, which offers more than 20 legal-specific skills covering contract review, drafting and obligations tracking inside Word and its agentic workspace Cowork. It also includes plugins from more than two dozen legal technology partners. It is the fourth AI giant in five months to build out a legal vertical, which raises the pressure on specialist vendors and gives in-house teams already using Microsoft a simple route to adoption.
Freshfields weighs spinning out AI unit it thinks is ‘worth billions’
Legal Cheek · Strategy
Leaked emails first reported by the FT show senior Freshfields partners discussing carving out Freshfields Lab, the firm’s AI unit, to attract outside investors or even an IPO. The emails cite valuation multiples of 25 to 40 times revenue for legaltech firms. Freshfields calls the talks very early stage, but they suggest a magic circle firm may start treating its AI tools as a product to sell rather than a cost.
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader unveils firmwide AI strategy, backing both Harvey and Legora
Legal IT Insider · Legal
Hogan Lovells Cadwalader unveiled a firmwide AI strategy with new senior leadership, an AI board and a commercial unit, alongside agreements with both Harvey and Legora. Backing two rival platforms rather than one suggests large firms are avoiding vendor lock-in as the legal AI market consolidates. Practitioners should expect more multi-vendor deals and formal AI governance structures at big firms.
England’s judiciary: AI can support courts but never replace judges
Scottish Legal News · Regulation
The judiciary in England and Wales will allow AI to support court work but not to replace judicial decision-making, under a new position statement setting out safeguards. It builds on judicial AI guidance first published in December 2023 and updated in 2025, which covers the risks of hallucinations and bias. Lawyers appearing before the courts should expect scrutiny of how AI is used in submissions and judgments.
https://www.scottishlegal.com/articles/england-judiciary-sets-out-safeguards-for-use-of-ai
Danish legal research startup Pandektes raises €13.5m Series A
Legal IT Insider · Finance
Pandektes raised €13.5m in Series A funding led by Alstin Capital. Its platform collects, structures and connects legislation, court decisions and administrative rulings. The company says more than 500 law firms, businesses and public institutions use it less than two years after launch, which shows that European legal AI investment is spreading beyond Harvey and Legora.
https://legaltechnology.com/legal-tech-news-roundup-major-funding-acquisitions-and-new-launches/