Contract analysis: buy, build, or fine tune?

Context

A law firm evaluates AI for contract analysis. A COTS legal AI suite is fast; an API build is cheap; fine tuning on the firm's own precedent library is where the differentiation lives, but it needs a team the firm doesn't have yet.

The decision

At this volume and team skill, the cheaper paths win on speed; fine tune only pulls ahead once the precedent trained edge is worth staffing a build.

What most miss

Firms fixate on the vendor demo and ignore the flip condition: the moment 'trained on our precedents' becomes a client facing edge, the math tips to fine tune.

Stakes

Pick for speed and you may lock in just before the capability becomes your differentiator, an expensive 18-month mistake.