Join us this coming Wednesday at 4pm, where we will chat about another LLM that brings a dedicated legal tool to the market.
First – Meet ChatGPT-6 Astra
Released in September 2026, Astra is designed to move beyond simply answering questions. It can reason through complex problems, research information, work with documents and files, use computer applications and handle multi-step tasks.
The big change is how we think about AI. Instead of asking, “Can AI help me with this?”, we can now increasingly ask, “Can AI actually do this task with me?”
And OpenAI has taken this one step further with Astra for Law. AI specifically designed around legal work. There’s just one catch for South African lawyers: not yet.
Astra for Law
OpenAI launched Astra for Law on 17 September 2026. It is GPT-6 Astra configured specifically for professional legal work, rather than simply giving a general-purpose model a legal prompt.
There are three important pieces:
1. A dedicated legal search system index
- case law
- statutes
- regulations
- court rules
- administrative decisions.
OpenAI says the index covers more than 230 million URLs and is updated with new sources daily.
2. Legal-specific reasoning and writing instructions
It is configured to approach legal questions differently. For example, considering the strongest objections to an argument, looking for authorities that weaken a proposed position, analysing contractual exceptions and developing arguments from the client’s facts.
3. It is intended to sit inside legal technology
OpenAI isn’t positioning Astra merely as another chatbot for lawyers. It is providing a foundation on which other legal tech companies can build.
Fireside Chat details
- When: This Wednesday (23rd September 2026) at 4:00 – 4:30 PM
- Where: Zoom – at your desk with a cup of coffee
- If not already registered, register for the Fireside Chat here: https://tech4law.aweb.page/exclusive-ai-lawyer-chats
- Invite: On Wednesday morning the invite to the private Zoom meeting will be sent to all attendees.
See you this Wednesday at 4:00 PM SAST!
