K&L Gates Earns AI Governance Certification

K&L Gates LLP earned ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification for its AI Management System, joining a small group of law firms globally with this recognition.

The certification places K&L Gates among the first law firms worldwide to meet the international standard for AI governance. As clients and regulators push for greater accountability in AI use, this milestone signals a shift in how law firms are expected to manage AI tools across their operations.

ISO/IEC 42001:2023 is an internationally recognized standard for AI governance. It requires organizations to build formal controls around accountability, risk management, ethics, transparency, data protection, and regulatory compliance.

An independent audit confirmed that K&L Gates meets these standards. The certification covers the firm's full AI lifecycle, from evaluating and implementing tools to monitoring and improving them over time.

The Firm's AI Framework

K&L Gates established a cross-disciplinary AI Solutions Group in 2023 to guide its firmwide AI strategy. The group advises both internal teams and clients on developing, deploying, and investing in AI technologies.

The firm also rolled out a Generative AI Policy and an AI Forward framework. These require staff to use only approved platforms, verify AI outputs, maintain transparency with clients, and complete mandatory training.

AI tools currently in use across the firm include Legora, Vincent, Westlaw Precision AI, Relativity Analytics, CoCounsel, and Microsoft 365 Copilot. These platforms support legal research, drafting, contract review, due diligence, and discovery work.

Training and Adoption

Firmwide AI adoption is backed by role-specific training programs. K&L Gates partnered with AltaClaro, as its first law firm partner, and Hotshot Legal to deliver training focused on AI literacy, prompt engineering, and supervisory oversight for partners.

Stacy Ackermann, Global Managing Partner of K&L Gates, explained the business rationale: "Clients are embracing AI to transform their businesses, and they expect their law firms to responsibly do the same. Achieving ISO/IEC 42001:2023 certification demonstrates that we have built a governance framework that prioritizes risk management, transparency, and trust while enabling us to deliver valuable insight and legal services to our clients."

Harpreet Suri, Chief Technology Officer of K&L Gates, pointed to client expectations as a driving factor: "As organizations across industries implement or evaluate AI technologies, they increasingly expect the same discipline and transparency from their legal advisers. This certification enables K&L Gates to provide enhanced confidence in how AI is thoughtfully and responsibly integrated into our client service delivery."

Recognition and Broader Impact

In 2025, BTI Consulting Group named K&L Gates an "Innovation Icon" for integrating AI into its global client-service strategy. The firm also serves as a founding sponsor of the AI Access to Justice Summit.

K&L Gates funded the K&L Gates Endowment for Ethics and Computational Technologies at Carnegie Mellon University in 2016. This endowment reflects the firm's long-standing interest in the intersection of technology and professional responsibility.

The firm operates a centralized governance model to oversee AI deployment across its global offices. This structure keeps AI use aligned with confidentiality rules, data-governance requirements, and professional standards.

About K&L Gates LLP

K&L Gates LLP is a global law firm with offices across the Americas, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. The firm serves clients in a wide range of industries and practice areas. Its AI Solutions Group, established in 2023, guides the firm's AI strategy and advises clients on AI-related legal and business matters.