New York may have the money, but London is trying to claim the ‘global capital of legal AI’ crown, writes Maria Ward-Brennan.

In the midst of a brutal transatlantic talent war, where US firms are driving salaries through the roof and aggressively poaching top talent across the City, London has quietly secured a major strategic win in legal AI.

According to data shared exclusively with City AM by Search Acumen, a staggering 25 per cent of all top UK and US law firms have based their global senior AI hires in London, “streets ahead” of New York, which stands at 10 per cent. Overall, the UK has slightly more qualified lawyers in senior AI positions, with 36 per cent of senior AI hires being qualified lawyers, compared to 33 per cent in the US.

Andrew Lloyd, managing director at Search Acumen, said, “Our analysis shows that London remains the epicentre of global legal authority.”

Despite the US outpacing the UK in the AI race, as top US law firms are more likely to have a senior AI hire in place at 96 per cent, compared to 76 per cent in the UK, Lloyd added, “if there were any concerns about AI disrupting London’s pre-eminence as a global legal centre, our research suggests these can be put to bed.”

There are currently 315 UK-founded legaltech and AI businesses, representing roughly 44 per cent of all legal tech startups in Europe. In total, over 790 active legal technology companies operate across the UK, with the vast majority (61 per cent) headquartered in London.

This included Luminance, which has recently spoken to City AM about how the firm stays competitive in a busy field.

London’s secret weapon: English law

The UK is trying to grab hold of the crown in AI, similar to the one it holds in FinTech (in Europe).

The overall AI sector has reached record investment levels of £8.3bn, with London securing its position as the top European tech hub.

However, the industry faces a critical test to translate billions in infrastructure spending into actual business productivity and skills development. The country is also struggling to keep up with the amount of investment the US is making into new technologies.

London is tied with New York for the legal capital of the world, but given the power of English law the City is trying to win in the legal tech space. Legal tech startups that aren’t UK-based are expanding into the UK market, including Candian-based Clio.

“Our thriving legal sector should result in a virtuous cycle for the UK when it comes to AI investment, with an easily accessible market and high-level expertise providing the impetus for law and tech to continue to grow together.”

“London stands to be the beneficiary of this, and, at a time when the economic news elsewhere is not entirely rosy, supporting that growth should be top of the agenda for City leaders and policymakers,” Lloyd added.