10 AI Law Firms to Watch in 2026
Meet the startup firms putting AI at the core of service delivery
The legal industry is witnessing the rise of “full-stack AI” law firms – firms built from the ground up with artificial intelligence at their core, rather than retrofitted to existing structures.
Y Combinator’s Request for Startups 2025 challenged founders to “start your own law firm, staff it with AI agents, and compete with existing law firms”, rather than just selling software to traditional firms. Is this the start of a paradigm shift? Instead of AI as a way of making existing professional services structures more efficient, do new entrants have the potential to fundamentally reinvent how legal services are delivered? As Mary O’Carroll highlighted on her recent podcast, AI-powered firms are reshaping the traditional pyramid structure of professional services firms beyond law – moving toward a leaner “obelisk” model, perhaps with fewer junior staff, new pricing models (away from billable hours), and an “AI-first” mindset.
The Lupl team has highlighted the Top 10 AI Law Firms to watch in 2026.