AI-native law firms are attracting experienced lawyers from some of the largest US legal practices, challenging traditional staffing structures, billing arrangements and the economics of delivering legal services.
The latest development involves Leon Johnson, a private equity and growth equity partner at Goodwin Procter and former partner at Kirkland & Ellis, who announced on 14 October 2026 that he would lead a new US law firm called OmniLex Partners.
The firm is associated with Zurich-founded legal technology company Omnilex AI and represents an attempt to build a legal practice around artificial intelligence rather than incorporate the technology into an established operating model.
Johnson told Reuters that advances in AI had prompted him to reconsider the traditional structure of large commercial law firms, where junior associates undertake substantial amounts of work before successive layers of senior review.
He believes AI could enable experienced lawyers to handle more work directly, reducing reliance on large teams of junior associates.
OmniLex intends to emphasise project-based services, outcomes and fixed fees rather than relying primarily on the billable hour. The firm will initially concentrate on venture capital transactions, startup legal services and routine, high-volume litigation.
Johnson’s move is not an isolated example of experienced lawyers leaving established practices for businesses built around AI.
Mike Schmidtberger, formerly chairman of Sidley Austin’s executive committee, joined Norm Law in January 2026 and now serves as its chairman and head of private funds and regulatory.
Christopher Kercher, who established Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan’s AI and data analytics group, has also launched an AI-focused litigation practice.
The movement reflects growing interest in alternatives to the traditional partnership model, particularly among lawyers who believe artificial intelligence could change how legal work is organised and priced.
Large law firms have historically relied heavily on teams of associates whose billable work contributes to revenue and partner profitability.
AI systems can assist with tasks including document review, legal research, contract analysis and drafting, potentially allowing some work to be completed with smaller teams.
That creates tension with business models that continue to derive substantial revenue from associate billable hours.
However, AI-native firms also face challenges that established practices have spent decades addressing.
Large firms retain extensive client relationships, specialist expertise and resources, while newer competitors must establish their ability to handle complex matters and satisfy clients’ expectations around confidentiality, security and professional standards.
Lawyers also remain responsible for meeting applicable professional obligations regardless of whether technology assists with research, drafting or other aspects of client representation.
Ownership presents another challenge.
Many US jurisdictions restrict non-lawyer ownership of law firms, limiting the ability of legal practices to raise outside equity capital in the same way as conventional technology companies.
OmniLex plans to use a management services organisation structure, separating certain technology and administrative functions from the regulated legal practice while preserving lawyers’ professional independence.
Such structures can allow businesses associated with law firms to access investment while remaining subject to professional rules governing the provision of legal services.
The growing market is also attracting attention from legal recruiters. Sean Burke, founding partner of Whistler Partners, told Reuters that both associates and senior partners have shown considerable interest in opportunities at AI-native firms.
Whether that interest develops into a substantial shift away from traditional firms remains uncertain.
AI-native practices still need to demonstrate that smaller teams and alternative pricing structures can deliver complex legal services profitably while maintaining the standards expected by major corporate clients.
If they succeed, they could increase pressure on established practices to reconsider staffing and pricing.
For now, the movement of experienced lawyers into AI-native firms suggests that competition over artificial intelligence in the legal sector is expanding beyond which firms adopt the technology fastest.
It is increasingly becoming a question of whether AI could support a different model for how law firms themselves are structured.