# HSF Kramer Levin Bets on AI and „Legal Engineers” to Transform Merged Law Firm
The recent merger of Herbert Smith Freehills and Kramer Levin created a legal giant with approximately 2,700 lawyers and over $2 billion in revenue. Now, the newly formed HSF Kramer is tackling the challenge of integrating these two entities into a cohesive, modern firm capable of delivering legal services more efficiently and competitively. At the heart of this transformation is a strategic push into artificial intelligence, spearheaded by the firm’s first global chief AI officer, Ilona Logvinova. Appointed last year, Logvinova reports directly to CEO Justin D’Agostino and brings experience from Mastercard and McKinsey & Company, where she led technology adoption in legal departments. She views the legal profession’s centuries-old traditions as a „massive base of opportunity” for innovation, and her C-suite role underscores the firm’s commitment to making AI integration a core operational mandate rather than a peripheral experiment.
To ensure AI tools are effectively adopted and avoid becoming unused „shelfware,” HSF Kramer is implementing a novel operational model inspired by the tech industry. Logvinova leads a team of „forward-deployed legal engineers,” a concept adapted from data company Palantir’s practice of embedding technologists with clients. These specialists work directly alongside lawyers and sometimes clients to observe workflows, understand practical needs, and build AI seamlessly into daily routines. This hands-on approach aims to bridge the gap between technology capabilities and practical legal application, ensuring tools are actually utilized to improve efficiency. Logvinova emphasizes that client expectations are driving this shift, as they increasingly demand that firms leverage the latest technology to provide superior service and maintain a competitive edge.
The firm has already begun deploying specific legal-tech solutions, including a firmwide rollout of software from startup Legora. This platform is designed to automate monotonous tasks such as document review, contract comparison, legal research, and drafting briefs. Logvinova illustrates how her legal engineers add value: for instance, if a lawyer wants to use Legora to analyze a term sheet and generate a specific spreadsheet-style summary but lacks the technical know-how, a legal engineer can translate that goal into a functional, customized workflow. While HSF Kramer has not disclosed other software vendors, this reticence reflects a broader industry trend where major firms are simultaneously testing multiple competing tools. The rapid evolution of legal tech makes firms hesitant to lock into platforms that may quickly become obsolete.
Navigating this dynamic landscape requires a non-traditional approach. Logvinova states, „There is no playbook for this job,” and has adopted a venture capital mindset toward technology procurement. Instead of simply purchasing off-the-shelf software, she actively scans the market, meets with founders, and evaluates product roadmaps as if making strategic investments. This philosophy is driven by the expectation that today’s tools represent the baseline and should continuously improve. For HSF Kramer, the post-merger integration and competitive future hinge on this dual bet: not only on artificial intelligence itself but on a unique, embedded human infrastructure—the legal engineers—to ensure that technology translates into tangible, day-to-day advancements in legal service delivery.
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Forrás: https://www.businessinsider.com/hsf-kramer-chief-ai-officer-ilona-logvinova-2026-3.