The AI Problem at Law Firms Isn't Hallucination. It's Honesty.

Intapp’s rise in legal and compliance software is framed as a long-built advantage rather than a quick wave of AI hype. The company traces its origin to the early 2000s, when a Silicon Valley patent application pitch was welcomed by a law firm CIO who then joined Intapp and helped sell its product. Intapp didn’t raise venture capital before its 2021 IPO, and it has spent decades building data and compliance infrastructure for niche markets. CEO John Hall says Intapp’s agentic platform, Celeste, reached general availability on July 15, after launching in February. Hall emphasizes “governed AI”: the system restricts answers based on who is allowed, so ethical walls block access rather than producing “honest” replies in violation.