UK Magic Circle firm Clifford Chance has partnered with alternative legal services provider Epiq and Microsoft to create an AI-powered knowledge management library containing more than 400,000 curated documents.
Epiq’s Epiq Advisory for Law Firms unit advised on the six-month project alongside input from Microsoft to ensure the library can operate inside CC's existing IT set-up.
The library includes advanced features developed by Epiq, such as permissioned search, enabling lawyers to explore 400,000 assigned and summarised access-controlled documents that respect client confidentiality, according to a briefing note published by Epiq.
Matt Taylor, a partner and global head of knowledge and training at Clifford Chance, said: “Our work with Epiq Advisory for Law Firms and Microsoft allows us to curate decades of firm knowledge in a repository that enables the deployment of AI while respecting client confidentiality.
“Clients will benefit from the efficiencies and insights made possible by AI and other new technologies, but underpinned by real specialist expertise and not just off-the-shelf solutions.”
The platform was built using Microsoft's Microsoft 365, Power Platform, Azure, and Azure AI Studio, allowing CC to deliver knowledge "directly into the tools lawyers use every day while retaining full control over the platform’s evolution", according to the briefing.
Stephen Allen, chief scout at UK legaltech consultancy Trampelpfad, said: “This is the right order of operations. The headline is the AI, but the number that matters is 400,000 documents reclassified and summarised, because somebody had to decide what counted as knowledge and what was clutter and then do it at scale. Firms buying the generative layer before they have done that work are buying the easy part.”
Epiq launched its advisory arm last October, with one unit focused on law firms and the other on in-house legal departments. The law firm advisory business combines Fireman – a knowledge management and tech consulting firm that Epiq acquired four years ago – and Inflection IT, a consultany Epiq purchased in September last year.
Kieron Champion, managing director and advisory practice lead at Epiq Advisory for Law Firms, said the project with Clifford Chance underscored what is possible when a law firm “chooses to own its knowledge and AI strategy and roadmap”.
He added: “Moreover, this solution creates a foundation that liberates Clifford Chance to innovate on its own terms, at its own pace and with absolute confidence in governance and quality.”
Clifford Chance has an ongoing relationship with Microsoft. In 2023, it started deploying its Gen AI tool, Clifford Chance Assist, which was developed on Microsoft's Azure OpenAI platform, and in February 2024, it announced the rollout of Copilot for Microsoft 365 and Viva Suite, which contains workplace productivity and collaboration tools. At the time, it said it was one of the first global organisations to make this investment.
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