Womble Bond Dickinson Launches Proprietary AI Lab for Legal Tech
Womble Bond Dickinson unveiled Womble AI Labs to build its own legal AI solutions.
Why it matters: This move highlights a major law firm investing directly in AI technology to boost legal services and efficiency. It reflects the growing trend of firms developing proprietary AI tools to stay competitive and meet client demands.
- Womble AI Labs is led by Chief AI and Technology Officer Chad Ergun and operates within the firm's IT function.
- The lab targets AI solutions for regulatory monitoring, document generation, contract review, and early legal analysis.
- Over 200 legal and business professionals have joined WBD’s ‘AI Champions’ network to promote AI adoption firmwide.
- WBD also formalized an AI and Machine Learning Practice led by Tara Cho to handle AI-related client matters.
Womble Bond Dickinson (WBD) has launched Womble AI Labs, a dedicated in-house initiative to develop artificial intelligence solutions addressing complex legal and business challenges for clients and internal use. The lab focuses on automating structured and repeatable legal tasks, including regulatory monitoring, document creation, contract review, and early-stage legal analysis.
The initiative is led by Chad Ergun, Chief AI and Technology Officer, and is integrated within WBD’s IT department. Ergun emphasized the lab’s early positive impact on both internal workflows and client service.
WBD has also established a network of more than 200 ‘AI Champions’—legal and business professionals committed to learning and applying new AI tools across the firm. This network spans all departments and is designed to accelerate AI adoption and share practical use cases.
In parallel, WBD formalized an Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning Practice, led by Tara Cho, to represent clients on AI-related issues such as text and speech recognition, robotic process automation, and image analysis.
WBD’s efforts align with broader legal industry trends toward proprietary AI innovation, aiming to enhance efficiency and competitiveness amid increasing AI adoption. Additionally, WBD was an early beta customer in the UK launch of Thomson Reuters’ CoCounsel Legal, signaling its commitment to integrating AI technology at multiple levels.
Firm Chair and CEO Merrick Benn noted that Womble AI Labs "builds on our firm’s long history of innovation and entrepreneurial approach to how we serve our clients." This strategic move places WBD among law firms investing significantly in internal AI capabilities to meet evolving market demands.
By the numbers:
- 1,300+ lawyers globally — Womble Bond Dickinson’s workforce size
- 31 US offices, 39 global offices — WBD’s geographic reach
- 200+ members — WBD’s AI Champions network since early 2026