Anthropic's new Claude Cowork legal plugin sparked panic in software markets, causing Thomson Reuters and RELX shares to plunge 15% as investors fear AI disruption.

Anthropic unveiled a legal automation plugin for Claude Cowork that caused major legal and publishing software stocks to plummet. Shares of Thomson Reuters fell 18%, RELX dropped 14%, and Pearson declined 8% as investors fear AI disruption in the legal services industry.

Anthropic becomes one of the first major AI labs to directly target the legal sector, confirming industry speculation that leading LLM developers would launch dedicated professional tools.

Harvey, a leading legal AI startup, has acquired Hexus to accelerate its enterprise AI offerings. With a staggering $8 billion valuation and over 1,000 clients, Harvey is solidifying its position as a dominant force in the rapidly evolving legal technology market.

Experts predict a major conflict in 2026 between the US federal government's push for AI deregulation and the increasing number of states enacting their own specific AI governance laws, creating an uncertain compliance landscape.