On September 17, 2026, OpenAI announced Astra for Law, a new platform designed specifically for law firms and legal technology companies building AI-powered workflows. The offering is built on GPT-6 Astra, OpenAI’s most advanced model to date, and combines a comprehensive legal search index with specialized tools for legal research and writing.
Comprehensive Legal Search Capabilities
Astra for Law features a legal search index covering over 230 million URLs, including U.S. case law, statutes, regulations, court rules, and administrative decisions. OpenAI partnered with Free Law Project to integrate its CourtListener case-law collection, enabling users to find relevant authorities, locate specific passages, and understand their application to specific legal questions.
Performance Benchmarks
According to OpenAI, Astra for Law achieved a score of 54% on Vals AI’s Legal Research Bench, significantly outperforming GPT-6 Astra with standard web search, which scored 38.7%. The platform also found 24% more reference cases on case-law-focused queries and retrieved up to 54% more relevant passages from correct court opinions in audited tests.
Legal Analysis and Writing Tools
The platform includes custom instructions for legal analysis and writing. These tools assist in applying research to a client’s facts, developing arguments or deal terms, identifying weaknesses, and accounting for uncertainty. OpenAI states the system can distinguish a court’s holding from other observations and flag cases that could weaken an argument.
Privacy Controls and Ecosystem Plugins
For firms handling confidential client information, OpenAI introduced a Trusted Access Program for eligible law firms, providing Zero Data Retention on the API. ChatGPT Enterprise usage remains excluded from human review by default.
Astra for Law also launches with 26 partner-built plugins covering legal practice and business operations, including integrations with iManage, Intapp, and Thomson Reuters (HighQ and CoCounsel Legal).
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