Ropes & Gray develops AI tool with OpenAI for commercial contract reviews

Law firm Ropes & Gray has developed a custom AI tool in partnership with OpenAI to accelerate and standardize intensive document review processes in commercial transactions.

The newly developed AI tool scans thousands of pages of commercial contracts to identify relevant documents, group them by theme, and prepare summary reports in the firm's standard format. Ropes & Gray partners Josh Lichtenstein and Howard Glazer compared the tool's function to that of a mid-level legal associate, noting that it allows lawyers to focus on strategic decisions rather than manual review.

During the system's training process, accuracy was improved by comparing human-written reports from past transactions with AI outputs. The firm aims to use this technology to complete detailed review reports that previously took weeks in a matter of hours. Ropes & Gray emphasizes that despite the automation, all outputs are reviewed by lawyers before being presented to the client.