Thomson Reuters has announced the early access opening of its next-generation CoCounsel Legal, marking significant advancements in its legal AI assistant since acquiring Casetext in 2023. As detailed in a recent report, this initiative represents an effort to unlock the potential of the company’s extensive legal content and expertise for improved AI training.
The move comes alongside the release of Thomson Reuters’ Future of Professionals Report 2026, which highlights a growing disparity between AI adoption and its value generation within organizations. The report suggests that while AI tools are being increasingly adopted, the change management processes critical for realizing their full potential are lagging.
In a conversation with Thomson Reuters President and CEO Steve Hasker, he underscores the importance of this new release. He emphasized the collaborative and methodological approach underpinning CoCounsel, which uses the circuitry of Westlaw Advantage’s architecture, facilitating rapid product development. Hasker notes the significant stride CoCounsel is making compared to its predecessors, fueled by feedback from a rigorous beta trial.
Additionally, Hasker discussed Thomson Reuters’ pursuit of developing its Large Language Model (LLM), named “Thomson,” which is engineered to outperform market competitors in specific legal tasks. The decision to develop their own model promises greater agility and customization in meeting legal professionals’ distinct needs, alongside their collaboration with Anthropic and the Claude SDK, which has been instrumental in shaping their agentic AI products.
Another focal point of the conversation revolved around the concept of “fiduciary-grade AI” – a standard Hasker believes should eventually become ubiquitous across legal AI products. He stresses that the firm’s AI aligns closely with the scrutiny legal products face and prioritizes transparency and reliability. Additionally, he states that the newly built CoCounsel is constructed to demystify AI-driven processes, augmenting the apprenticeship model for aspiring legal professionals.
Thomson Reuters continues to emphasize the competitive advantage of its comprehensive content ecosystem and expert human resources, positioning CoCounsel as a uniquely authoritative solution in the crowded landscape of AI legal tools. While acknowledging competitors like Harvey and Legora, Hasker highlights the intrinsic value of their exclusive access to resources like Westlaw and Practical Law.
The broader conversation around AI’s role in law, as revealed by the Future of Professionals Report, points to an industry struggling to effectively integrate AI tools into daily operations despite the evident potential. Steve Hasker highlights that many firms have been slow to fully operationalize AI-driven change, unlike pioneering firms that are actively redefining workflows and roles to capture AI’s full benefits.
When asked about the response from corporate clients, Hasker reflects on the growing expectation for law firms to deliver noticeable improvements in quality and efficiency, thanks to AI technologies. Despite existing regulations and hesitations in certain sectors, there is a mounting demand from clients to benefit from AI advancements.
Reflecting on the firm’s strategic vision, Hasker is optimistic regarding AI’s potential to enhance legal service delivery and suggests that AI could lead to increased demand for legal services over time. He remains positive that law firms will utilize AI to enhance, rather than replace, human expertise in delivering precise and efficient legal solutions.
This detailed discussion not only sets the stage for Thomson Reuters’ future with AI but also casts light on the evolving dynamics of AI integration within the legal profession. For more on the specifics of this conversation, visit the interview with Steve Hasker.