LexisNexis® Legal & Professional has  announced the U.S. customer preview of Protégé™ Protege General AI which compliments the functionality of Protégé Legal AI which launched in August 2024. Lexis will be demonstrating this new  suite of tools this week at the Annual ILTACON conference in National Harbor, Md.
 
The launch gives lawyers increased control and the ability to  personalize  the agentic AI capabilities with Protégé. Perhaps the most powerful new functionality is the ability to quickly pivot from Protégé General AI to Protégé Legal AI or to search simultaneously on both datasets.
 
It also promises secure access to general-purpose AI models from multiple providers within the Lexis+ AI workflow solution.  Sean Fitzpatrick, CEO of LexisNexis North America, UK, &

Ireland described the launch as putting power directly into lawyers  hands, “from selecting the model to guiding how it behaves in agentic workflows, all within a single, private environment. Our goal is to support legal professionals with a personalized AI assistant that enables uninterrupted workflows and access to the full range of LexisNexis AI capabilities in one secure place.”

 
Protégé General AI responses are generated from open-web sources,  new use cases include:
Use General AI as an idea springboard, Conduct Deep Research, Draft communications intended for both legal and non-legal audiences,Enrich legal work with real-world context and
Break down high-complexity problems.

 
 Protégé enables lawyers to “conduct a wider range of tasks including Advanced Reasoning and Deep Research for high-complexity legal issues or simple topic exploration, everyday tasks, brainstorming, and conversational responses to legal questions.”  Protégé General AI lets users choose the latest models, including Claude Sonnet 4 from Anthropic and GPT-5, GPT-4o, and o3 from OpenAI.
  
Protégé General AI is purpose-built for legal professionals with the highest levels of privacy and flexibility, going beyond what general-purpose AI tools can provide. Key differentiators include:
Security and Privacy by Design: The fully encrypted Lexis+ AI environment ensures data privacy protections that far exceed what consumer-grade AI tools offer.
Flexible Model Choice: Users can choose the AI model that best fits each task or use case.
A Shepard’s® Citation Agent: The advanced citation agent proactively checks any included legal sources for further human review.
Powerful Deep Research: Legal professionals can uncover comprehensive insights on any topic.
Integrated General and Legal AI: By securely combining Protégé General AI and Protégé Legal AI in one solution, Lexis+ AI, legal professionals can solve more problems faster.
User and Org-level Control: Users can easily toggle Protégé General AI on or off, and firms can turn off General AI for users entirely to meet firm or regulatory policies.
  
“Trust and privacy are the foundation of legal work. Safeguarding sensitive client information is paramount, and lawyers need confidence that their data remains private and protected,” said Jeff Pfeifer, Chief Product Officer, LexisNexis Legal & Professional. “Protégé Legal AI and General AI are designed with the rigorous privacy guardrails legal professionals require to work securely and responsibly, ensuring that client information is never exposed to foundational models and remains fully within their control.”
 
Lexis+ AI users now have the choice to either explore with Protégé General AI and select their preferred model or work with authoritative Protégé Legal AI. Each option provides distinct advantages:
Protégé General AI:
Claude Sonnet 4 (Natural Fluency): The latest model from Anthropic, it provides thoughtful and well-structured responses to support everyday tasks, communication, and brainstorming.
GPT-5 (Unified Reasoning): The latest model from OpenAI, it combines strong general knowledge and domain knowledge with reasoning and non-reasoning capabilities. LexisNexis is among the first to integrate this model through its direct collaboration with OpenAI.
GPT-4o (General Exploration): Excels at everyday tasks like general exploration, brainstorming, drafting, and integrating web-based information into real-time conversations.
OpenAI o3 (Advanced Reasoning): Optimizes tasks like Deep Research, strategic decision-making, intricate problem solving, specialized workflows and nuanced understanding. 
 

Protégé Legal AI:
Multiple legal-tuned models: Includes Claude 3.7, Claude 4, GPT-4o, GPT-4.1, fine-tuned GPT-4o-mini, and fine-tuned Mistral where the best model handles the specific use case. 
Authoritative responses with validated citations: Grounded in trusted LexisNexis legal content and metadata and organizations’ internal documents and validated through Shepard’s®.

Expanded agentic workflows: Built on the proprietary LexisNexis agentic AI framework and leveraging agentic AI capabilities integrated in the company’s global technology platform since 2024, agentic workflows represent a significant advancement in how legal professionals interact with AI. For example, the new AI Guided Research Workflow is a structured step-by-step process between both agents and humans, allowing the user to guide AI behavior in real time for deepened transparency and trust.
An Orchestrator Agent breaks down complex or lengthy legal queries into manageable tasks and coordinates multiple agents working together.
A Legal Research Agent lets the user refine or redirect AI behavior throughout its tailored research processes.
A Reflection Agent reviews and strengthens the final response.
 
According to the press release approximately 200 law firms, corporate legal departments, and law schools are participating in the Protégé General AI U.S. Customer Preview Program to provide their expertise, insights, and feedback. The preview begins in Q3 with general availability expected later this year.
 
To learn more about Protégé: www.lexisnexis.com/protege and Protégé in Lexis+ AI: www.lexisnexis.com/ai.