A&O Shearman devotes lawyer hours to AI tools

A&O Shearman is devoting lawyer hours to building AI tools under a five-year plan, according to reports published on Nov. 5 and Nov. 6. Non-Billable reported that A&O Shearman said the plan was worth $1.1bn, while Legaltech News (Law.com) reported an investment of around $1B in lawyer hours for AI development.

Non-Billable reported that every practice would invest at least 3% of its time in building AI tools. Legal Cheek reported that billable hours would be devoted to building AI tools as part of the $1 billion investment. Its account described A&O Shearman as a Magic Circle firm and said the firm was ramping up its AI efforts.

Legaltech News (Law.com) described the allocation as among the largest investments announced by a law firm in AI so far. It also reported that Big Law firms were increasingly targeting bespoke platforms.