LegalMidm: Use-Case-Driven Legal Domain Specialization for Korean Large Language Model

arXiv cs.CL / 4/29/2026

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Key Points

  • The paper argues that simply adapting general LLMs into legal specialists often fails because training data and protocols may not match the precision and reliability requirements of real-world legal use cases.
  • It proposes a use-case-driven training framework tailored to the legal domain, with a specific focus on Korean law.
  • The authors introduce LegalMidm, a Korean legal-domain LLM, built using high-quality legal datasets designed around practical scenarios.
  • The framework emphasizes close collaboration with legal professionals and rigorous data curation to improve relevance and factual accuracy.
  • The study reports improved effectiveness across key legal tasks using the proposed methodology and optimized training pipelines.

Abstract

In recent years, the rapid proliferation of open-source large language models (LLMs) has spurred efforts to turn general-purpose models into domain specialists. However, many domain-specialized LLMs are developed using datasets and training protocols that are not aligned with the nuanced requirements of real-world applications. In the legal domain, where precision and reliability are essential, this lack of consideration limits practical utility. In this study, we propose a systematic training framework grounded in the practical needs of the legal domain, with a focus on Korean law. We introduce LegalMidm, a Korean legal-domain LLM, and present a methodology for constructing high-quality, use-case-driven legal datasets and optimized training pipelines. Our approach emphasizes collaboration with legal professionals and rigorous data curation to ensure relevance and factual accuracy, and demonstrates effectiveness in key legal tasks.