WINNER: Ecija

Originality: 8; Leadership: 8; Impact: 8; Total: 24

Ecija implemented a strategy dubbed Full AI Firm in late 2024, in order to adopt a fully artificial intelligence-driven operational model.

The firm has revised its range of legal services, embedding AI expertise across all practice areas to better advise clients, which include clothing company Inditex, energy company Iberdrola and bank Santander, on managing the risks and regulatory aspects of adopting these systems.

This shift has been supported by Ecija's internal development of AI tools, which both supported legal teams in strategic advisory roles and widened the firm's offerings to include customised products deployed in line with clients' governance requirements.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton

O: 8; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 23

The firm acquired London-based legal tech start-up Springbok AI this year to strengthen development of its digital services. The deal secured ownership of the business behind the SpringLaw proprietary platform and its team of 10 data scientists and AI engineers. They form the core of an "AI acceleration" unit briefed to push forward the firm's development of bespoke systems and build on Cleary's existing use of AI-powered and other law tech systems.

Cobalt

O: 7; L: 7; I: 8; Total: 22

The Baltic firm partnered with start-up Lexu AI to develop a legal research platform providing better access to Latvian court rulings.

Launched this year, it aims to enhance the functionality of the government-operated search tool and to introduce advanced AI features that significantly cut research time and improve search accuracy. The platform is designed to be affordable and accessible even for smaller outfits.

Charles Russell Speechlys

O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21

As part of its overall innovation strategy, the firm has accelerated adoption of its own generative AI drafting tool Sidekick, and advanced the creation of its first software-as-a-service platform.

Morais Leitão

O: 7; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 21

Thanks to new rules that allow Portuguese firms to appoint non-lawyers as partners, the firm is combining its legal practice with integrated management consultancy and proprietary technology.

Radiant Law

O: 7; L: 8; I: 6; Total: 21

The firm rolled out Surfer, a platform designed to improve workflows by separating legal and administrative tasks, in 2024.

Baker McKenzie

O: 5; L: 8; I: 7; Total: 20

The firm launched an initiative aimed at developing and implementing AI tools and governance frameworks across all offices and practice areas.

Cuatrecasas

O: 6; L: 7; I: 7; Total: 20

The Spain-based firm has launched an initiative to integrate legal AI tools with its internal knowledge repositories.

Shoosmiths

O: 7; L: 7 I: 6; Total: 20

The firm's use of AI to compare documents with internal contract drafting guidelines includes an outline of the legal rationale behind suggested amendments. The aim is to develop junior lawyers' abilities in legal reasoning while also boosting efficiency.

Pérez-Llorca

O: 7; L: 7; I: 5; Total: 19

The firm has partnered with legal tech start-up Legora to provide clients with training on its AI legal systems and help in-house teams in adopting the technology.

Business of Law: case studies