OpenAI's Astra for Law targets legal research
The legal configuration searches an index of more than 230 million URLs and scores 54 percent on Legal Research Bench, up from 38.7 percent.
In short
OpenAI has launched Astra for Law, a GPT-6 Astra configuration wired to its own index of US case law, statutes and regulations, open at first only to selected firms through a Trusted Access program.
At a glance
- Announced in mid-September 2026: Astra for Law is GPT-6 Astra plus a legal index and instructions for legal work.
- The index spans more than 230 million URLs, built on Free Law Project data claiming more than 99.9 percent of published US precedents.
- On Vals AI's Legal Research Bench it answered 54 percent of 200 questions correctly; GPT-6 Astra with web search reached 38.7 percent.
- 26 plugins launch with it, including connections to Relativity, Clio, iManage and DeepJudge per SiliconAngle.
- An API version, gpt-6-astra-law, is announced with no date and no price; Harvey and Legora are named as API customers.
OpenAI has introduced Astra for Law: its GPT-6 Astra model wired to a dedicated legal search index and to instructions for legal analysis and drafting. For now it reaches only selected firms, through a Trusted Access program.
A configuration, not a new model family
The underlying model is still GPT-6 Astra. What is new is the attached index of US case law, statutes and regulations, reported at more than 230 million URLs. The data comes from the Free Law Project's CourtListener collection, which claims coverage of more than 99.9 percent of published US precedents. SiliconAngle adds court rules and administrative decisions to that list, plus a daily refresh.
Inside ChatGPT and Codex the variant shows up in the model picker as "GPT-6 Astra Law", per SiliconAngle. An API version called gpt-6-astra-law is promised, with no date and no price attached.
Reading the benchmark
The numbers come from OpenAI's own run on Vals AI's Legal Research Bench. Across 200 questions, Astra for Law answered 54 percent correctly, against 38.7 percent for GPT-6 Astra using ordinary web search. SiliconAngle cites two further gains: 24 percent more case law references found, and up to 54 percent more target passages retrieved from the correct opinions.
Two caveats travel with that. This is vendor testing, not an independent audit. And 54 percent still means roughly one answer in two was wrong on the test — in research whose errors end up in a filing, that half is the part that counts.
Distribution runs through the firm's software
OpenAI is launching 26 plugins, among them connections to Relativity, Clio, iManage and DeepJudge according to SiliconAngle — the systems where legal work already happens. Firms are offered privacy controls including zero data retention, which SiliconAngle ties specifically to API use, noting that ChatGPT Enterprise is excluded from human review by default. Harvey and Legora are named as API customers.
Thomson Reuters shows up on both sides: as a partner piping HighQ matter context into ChatGPT and previewing a connector for CoCounsel Legal, and as a vendor of competing legal products. Its CTO, Joel Hron, is quoted arguing that legal professionals need trusted intelligence and matter context, not merely access to information.
What the reporting does not answer
Neither article explains how citations are checked, or how fabricated references are meant to be prevented — the exact failure mode that has repeatedly put AI-assisted filings in front of US judges. Pricing is absent, and the index is US-only; nothing in either report addresses German or European law. The date is not clean either: SiliconAngle published on September 17, 2026, while The Decoder gives September 18, 2026 as the announcement day.
The Decoder also notes that Anthropic is expanding into legal work. The contest is less about the model than about the desk: whoever sits inside the firm's document system decides which model does the research.
FAQ
What is Astra for Law?
GPT-6 Astra configured for legal work: the model plus a search index over US case law, statutes and regulations, and instructions for legal analysis and drafting.
How do you get access to Astra for Law?
Through a Trusted Access program for selected firms in ChatGPT and Codex. An API version, gpt-6-astra-law, is announced but carries no date and no price.
Does Astra for Law cover law outside the United States?
The reported index covers US case law, statutes, regulations, court rules and administrative decisions; neither report mentions German or European law.
