Annual Report & Accounts 2026
10
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW CONTINUED
The strength and depth of experience that Keystone offers our clients is a significant differentiating factor when recruiting, as like attracts like. By only recruiting lawyers of the highest quality, we have created a virtuous circle, establishing the business firmly at the top end of the legal profession. This strength in depth is reflected in the number of Keystone lawyers ranked in the leading legal directories, with 221 being recognised in the Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2026 rankings2 (2026: 207 listed up from 65 in 2019). IT INNOVATION AND THE AI JOURNEY
For us, the innovative application of technology to deliver real solutions and make a genuine difference to our lawyers’ working lives is a central tenet of the Keystone model. As such, our approach to the AI journey is simply a logical extension of this and absolutely consistent with our solutions focused IT strategy. We believe that the term “AI journey” accurately reflects our approach to AI. There is no single solution to be bought and deployed which will end this journey. It is our belief that by adopting, implementing and using the underlying technology we will continue to drive the Keystone proposition forwards enhancing value for all stakeholders. This year, our IT team and user groups have continued assessing new tools and products as they have come to market, considering how, and to what extent, these may be deployed to genuinely impact the lives of our lawyers and drive the business forwards. This is a continuous and ongoing process, and the insights of this work continue to inform our development and solutions implementation. We believe that for our journey to deliver real value, it is necessary to innovate across our IT estate implementing a range of products and solutions, tailoring these to our business. This year, we have rolled out several AI initiatives to further enhance our offering to lawyers; on the generative AI front we have deployed a secure locked down version of ChatGPT and Claude as well as adopting the NetDocuments AI extension. We recognise that for these solutions to make a difference they need to be widely adopted across the business and so we have invested significant time and energy in promoting the benefits of AI and training our lawyers to use it, thereby empowering them to make the most of these new tools. This approach has ensured the successful adoption of these tools with over half our lawyers already using them regularly. Furthermore, working with expert external consultants we have identified several possible applications for agentic AI agents within the business. We have applied a combination of generative and agentic AI to enable our lawyers to interrogate our substantial operating manual in seconds saving them time and improving their experience. With regards to agentic AI we have harnessed this technology in new tools which we have rolled out to support our lawyers in complying with AML legislation regarding identification of source of funds as well as providing an enhanced approach to conflict checking. BRAND REFRESH
It has been an extremely busy year for our marketing team. Alongside delivering the day to day support our lawyers need, they have also worked closely with external advisers to design and deliver our brand refresh, ensuring that the external presentation of Keystone accurately reflects the business we are today. The new website and extensive marketing collateral used to support the business has gone live post year end and I am delighted with the results. I believe that the new look and feel significantly enhances the Keystone offering, aligning with the broader brand position of Keystone in the marketplace. These changes will enhance the experience of all stakeholders interacting with the business, further supporting our growth strategy.
CHIEF EXECUTIVE’S REVIEW CONTINUED
The strength and depth of experience that Keystone offers our clients is a significant differentiating factor when recruiting, as like attracts like. By only recruiting lawyers of the highest quality, we have created a virtuous circle, establishing the business firmly at the top end of the legal profession. This strength in depth is reflected in the number of Keystone lawyers ranked in the leading legal directories, with 221 being recognised in the Legal 500 UK Solicitors 2026 rankings2 (2026: 207 listed up from 65 in 2019). IT INNOVATION AND THE AI JOURNEY
For us, the innovative application of technology to deliver real solutions and make a genuine difference to our lawyers’ working lives is a central tenet of the Keystone model. As such, our approach to the AI journey is simply a logical extension of this and absolutely consistent with our solutions focused IT strategy. We believe that the term “AI journey” accurately reflects our approach to AI. There is no single solution to be bought and deployed which will end this journey. It is our belief that by adopting, implementing and using the underlying technology we will continue to drive the Keystone proposition forwards enhancing value for all stakeholders. This year, our IT team and user groups have continued assessing new tools and products as they have come to market, considering how, and to what extent, these may be deployed to genuinely impact the lives of our lawyers and drive the business forwards. This is a continuous and ongoing process, and the insights of this work continue to inform our development and solutions implementation. We believe that for our journey to deliver real value, it is necessary to innovate across our IT estate implementing a range of products and solutions, tailoring these to our business. This year, we have rolled out several AI initiatives to further enhance our offering to lawyers; on the generative AI front we have deployed a secure locked down version of ChatGPT and Claude as well as adopting the NetDocuments AI extension. We recognise that for these solutions to make a difference they need to be widely adopted across the business and so we have invested significant time and energy in promoting the benefits of AI and training our lawyers to use it, thereby empowering them to make the most of these new tools. This approach has ensured the successful adoption of these tools with over half our lawyers already using them regularly. Furthermore, working with expert external consultants we have identified several possible applications for agentic AI agents within the business. We have applied a combination of generative and agentic AI to enable our lawyers to interrogate our substantial operating manual in seconds saving them time and improving their experience. With regards to agentic AI we have harnessed this technology in new tools which we have rolled out to support our lawyers in complying with AML legislation regarding identification of source of funds as well as providing an enhanced approach to conflict checking. BRAND REFRESH
It has been an extremely busy year for our marketing team. Alongside delivering the day to day support our lawyers need, they have also worked closely with external advisers to design and deliver our brand refresh, ensuring that the external presentation of Keystone accurately reflects the business we are today. The new website and extensive marketing collateral used to support the business has gone live post year end and I am delighted with the results. I believe that the new look and feel significantly enhances the Keystone offering, aligning with the broader brand position of Keystone in the marketplace. These changes will enhance the experience of all stakeholders interacting with the business, further supporting our growth strategy.