Osborne Clarke Spins Off AI Reg-Monitor Justima

London law firm Osborne Clarke launched Justima, an AI-powered regulatory monitoring company, as an independent spin-off on May 21, 2026.

The launch reflects a wider shift in how regulated businesses expect to manage legal compliance. In-house legal teams increasingly want automation to handle the base-level monitoring work that has long consumed significant time and budget, and Justima is designed to deliver exactly that.

What Justima Does

Justima uses agentic AI to scan more than 200 legal and regulatory sources every day. These sources include EU regulatory bodies and national-level regulators across Europe.

The platform filters this volume of information and delivers only the updates that are relevant to each customer's specific business. Customers provide information about their operations and products, and the system identifies which regulatory changes apply to them.

"Our customers tell us what they are doing, what products they are offering, and we say what regulation is becoming relevant for them," said CEO Alexander Lilienbeck. "The real challenge is bringing it down to just a few [items], but those must be relevant, and you must make sure you don't leave anything out."

When a new regulation, court ruling, or rule change affects a client's documents or products, Justima sends a targeted notification. The system also generates AI-produced summaries explaining what each regulatory change means for the business and recommends steps to respond. The aim is to replace broad manual scanning with a continuous, automated monitoring process that stays on at all times.

Before its official launch, approximately 60 companies from the compliance sector had registered for early access. Current users include Condor, Karlsberg Brewery, AUTODOC, and additional DAX-40 and Fortune 500 companies.

The Founding Team

Justima was co-founded by CEO Alexander Lilienbeck and CTO Christian Braun, both of whom worked at Osborne Clarke before the spin-off. Lilienbeck is a lawyer and software developer, recognized by JUVE in 2025 as one of the Top 10 Legal Tech Rising Stars in Germany. Braun specializes in AI and machine learning systems and has previously founded two AI startups.

Gereon Abendroth, Osborne Clarke's chief digital and technology officer and chair of its global AI management board, serves as Justima's chair and managing director. He brings more than 20 years of experience to the role.

Justima is launching with five employees and plans to expand headcount in the months ahead. The company has not taken venture capital investment to date and does not currently plan to seek it, though Abendroth did not rule out the possibility entirely.

Internally, Justima uses Claude Code for software development. The company has also built automated AI-powered systems to set up product demos for potential customers and handle other operational tasks.

Why a Spin-Off

Osborne Clarke built Justima drawing on its longstanding strength in regulatory monitoring work for clients in regulated industries. The firm decided to operate it as a standalone company rather than an internal product because the service requires a fundamentally different business model.

"It is not a law firm operating model, it's a tech offering, and that doesn't really sit well in the structures of a law firm," said Abendroth.

Osborne Clarke international CEO Omar Al-Nuaimi cited growing demand from clients as the core motivation. "Horizon scanning has been a big thing for clients in regulated sectors, and that burden is only getting worse and worse for our clients," he said. "We've really identified not only the burden growing on clients, but also their legitimate expectation that AI is bringing a new world for them."

By spinning off Justima, Osborne Clarke can offer the product to both existing clients and companies that have no prior relationship with the firm. No data is shared between Justima and Osborne Clarke, and Justima customers have no obligation to engage the firm as outside counsel when regulatory issues require additional legal help.

The Broader Picture

Justima targets a specific and long-standing operational problem. In-house legal and compliance teams at large companies regularly report being overloaded with regulatory information that is not relevant to their businesses. Missing a critical update, however, carries serious risk.

Abendroth noted that Osborne Clarke may draw lessons from how Justima uses AI in its own business operations as the firm continues to expand AI adoption internally. Al-Nuaimi framed the Justima launch as one solution among many the firm is pursuing.

"This is just a solution to one particular client problem that we've identified, where we see an opportunity to do things a particular way," he said. "There are probably 99 other solutions we need internally for things we can see in our own business model that we can improve or change."

About Osborne Clarke

Osborne Clarke is an international law firm headquartered in London, with offices across Europe, Asia, and the United States. The firm has provided legal advisory services for more than 250 years. Its clients range from established market leaders to high-growth startups, with a recognized focus on regulatory and technology sectors.