KPMG Law integrates new AI tool with content from specialist publisher Otto Schmidt into its day-to-day legal work

KPMG Law is taking the next step in integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into everyday legal work. After testing the use of AI in legal departments in a real-world laboratory together with six corporate clients in 2023, the publishing house Dr. Otto Schmidt and KPMG Law jointly tested the benefits of AI when used with curated content in 2023/2024. At the same time, a Munich-based start-up, with legal support from KPMG Law, developed an innovative tool that combines content from leading legal publishers with state-of-the-art AI technology, making it accessible to legal professionals. The tool’s range of functions includes

• Search: Efficient search in extensive legal databases
• Chat: Interactive communication to clarify legal questions
• Clause check: Review and analysis of legal clauses

“Our goal was to develop a tool that would make the daily work of lawyers easier and at the same time increase the quality and efficiency of their work,” says Dr. Bernhard Waltl, co-founder of LDA Legal Data Analytics GmbH. During the initial phase, KPMG employees acted as early individual testers of the tool, which is equipped with content from specialist publisher Otto Schmidt. In the beta phase that has now started, the 340 lawyers at KPMG Law will use the tool on a daily basis and further exploit its potential. For example, the tool was able to shorten a comprehensive search in corporate law. For example, the right question on the consequences of incorrect articles of association of a stock corporation not only pointed out the material consequences, but also the risk of dissolution of the stock corporation under Section 399 FamFG. By citing footnotes and simply referring to the original findings, this result could also be verified directly. “The collaboration with KPMG Law enables us to test the tool even more thoroughly in order to significantly increase the efficiency of our legal work,” says Andre Schaper, Head of Media Production and Digital Products at Otto Schmidt. In the initial phase, test users particularly praised the chat function, which allows users to ask questions via AI chat, similar to ChatGPT. The main difference, however, is that the chatbot answers exclusively on the basis of the publisher’s content. The associated ability to quickly approach legal questions and then dive into Otto Schmidt’s sources was seen as particularly useful. “We are proud to work with our partners to shape the future of legal work and develop innovative solutions that can revolutionize the everyday work of lawyers and legal professionals,” says Konstantin von Busekist, Managing Partner at KPMG Law. “The integration of AI into our work processes is an important step in our digital transformation. This project shows how technology and legal expertise can go hand in hand to create added value for our clients,” adds Philipp Glock, Chief Technology Officer at KPMG Law.