The system emerged from a year-long development and pilot phase. Shoosmiths' leadership, including partner David Jackson, built the tool to codify the firm's dealmaking judgment before external vendors do so. The firm has not disclosed detailed performance metrics or the scope of contracts currently running through the system.
For practitioners, Project Apollo signals a strategic shift in how firms approach legal AI. Rather than adopting generic third-party tools, Shoosmiths chose to build proprietary software that embeds firm-specific expertise and maintains audit trails for each recommendation. This approach addresses growing partner concerns about junior lawyer AI use while positioning institutional knowledge as a competitive asset. Other firms considering similar builds should watch how Shoosmiths manages knowledge capture, system maintenance, and the risk that codified judgment becomes outdated as markets and practice evolve.