OpenAI brings GPT-6 Astra to legal industry with tools for law firms

On September 17th, OpenAI unveiled GPT-6 Astra, a legal industry-specific iteration of its cutting-edge model. The powerful system comes with specialized settings, tools, and context designed to cater to the demands of professional legal work. Initially, GPT-6 Astra will be made available to a select group of law firms through Trusted Access in ChatGPT and Codex.

The launch of this model is part of a larger strategy by leading AI companies to penetrate the legal segment. OpenAI emphasizes that GPT-6 Astra is meant to complement, rather than replace, the existing expertise, methods, and workflows of a law firm. The company also stresses the importance of data protection and upholding professional obligations in its legal offerings.

GPT-6 Astra is built around lawyers' responsibilities, such as safeguarding client confidentiality and exercising independent judgement. Additionally, the tool has no retention policy for API usage, while ChatGPT Enterprise provides a default "eyes-off" human review setting. The AI startup aims to seamlessly integrate GPT-6 Astra with the software already utilized by law firms, incorporating firm knowledge, case information, documents, and established workflows into ChatGPT while preserving existing permissions and controls.

Partnerships with legal tech providers like Clio, DeepJudge, iManage, Intapp, Relativity, and Thomson Reuters enable the seamless exchange of firm-specific data and established procedures. GPT-6 Astra is capable of handling a broad spectrum of legal tasks, such as legal research, document analysis, contract drafting, and deal review.

Examples of GPT-6 Astra's capabilities include IPO preparations, document review, deal diligence, and the use of a law firm's own precedents and playbooks. This announcement comes as AI companies increasingly target professional services, where vast amounts of documents and repetitive knowledge-work tasks make the technology particularly relevant.

However, for law firms, the broader pitch extends beyond merely employing an AI chatbot. OpenAI seeks to integrate its models into existing legal workflows by combining AI reasoning with firm-specific knowledge, specialist databases, and professional tools, while still retaining human lawyers where legal judgment is required. Earlier this year, Anthropic also expanded Claude’s presence in the legal sector with new tools and integrations designed for law firms and lawyers.

This expansion allowed Claude users to access 12 legal practice plug-ins covering areas such as litigation, employment, and commercial law. The legal professionals' growing adoption of AI for research, drafting, and document-heavy tasks has fueled this expansion.