- GLM Legal open source models are hosted under the
law-llmorganization on Hugging Face - Two variants:
law-glm-10bandlaw-glm-10b-v2, both 10B-parameter legal-domain models - Apache-2.0 license is listed on the model pages, enabling broad research and commercial use with conditions
- 39.5 GB total file size means local deployment requires careful storage and GPU planning
- No confirmed official website exists; Hugging Face and GitHub are the verified access points
What GLM Legal Open Source Actually Refers To
The term GLM Legal open source most accurately describes the publicly released legal-domain language models published under the law-llm organization on Hugging Face — specifically law-glm-10b and law-glm-10b-v2. These models are built on the GLM architecture, a model family whose upstream code is maintained in the THUDM/GLM GitHub repository.
It is important to distinguish two different things that both carry the GLM legal branding: the open source model weights on Hugging Face, and GLM-Legal as a commercial legal AI product described on Z.ai's official channels. The open source release gives developers and researchers direct access to model files; the commercial product is accessed through official consultation. Confusing the two leads to wrong assumptions about licensing, support, and deployment.
"GLM Legal" is best treated as a community content name for the law-glm-10b model family — not a confirmed official commercial product name. Do not treat Z.ai, ChatGLM, or other legal AI products as the official site for these open weights.
The verified open source footprint includes:
| Resource | Location | Status |
|---|---|---|
| law-glm-10b model page | Hugging Face | Public, Apache-2.0 listed |
| law-glm-10b-v2 model page | Hugging Face | Public, Apache-2.0 listed |
| Upstream GLM code | GitHub - THUDM/GLM | Open repository |
| LawGLM research project | GitHub - MetaGLM/LawGLM | Research-oriented open source |
Model Variants and Key Specifications
Both public variants share the same 10B-parameter scale but represent different release iterations of the legal-domain fine-tuning effort. The table below consolidates the confirmed specifications from the model pages.
| Specification | law-glm-10b | law-glm-10b-v2 |
|---|---|---|
| Parameters | 10B | 10B |
| Architecture | GLM-based legal model | GLM-based legal model |
| License listed | Apache-2.0 | Apache-2.0 |
| Model file size | ~39.5 GB | ~39.5 GB |
| Primary domain | Chinese legal text | Chinese legal text |
| Host | Hugging Face law-llm org | Hugging Face law-llm org |
Document Understanding
- Parses legal terminology
- Handles statutes and case text
- Supports structured reading tasks
Legal Q&A
- Chinese legal questions
- Citation-oriented answers
- Instruction-tuned formats
Research Workflows
- Local deployment possible
- Prompt-based experimentation
- Community discussion on model pages
The model pages show a low recent monthly download count. This reflects a niche research audience rather than model quality — treat community activity in the Hugging Face Community tab as the best signal for current usage discussions.
Apache-2.0 Licensing: What You Can and Cannot Do
The Apache-2.0 license listed on both model pages is one of the most permissive open source licenses, but responsible deployment still requires understanding its conditions.
| Use Case | Allowed Under Apache-2.0 | Conditions to Watch |
|---|---|---|
| Academic research | Yes | Retain license notices |
| Commercial products | Yes | Include NOTICE file if provided |
| Redistribution of weights | Yes | Preserve copyright and license text |
| Modification and fine-tuning | Yes | Document significant changes |
| Trademark use | No | Project names and marks are not licensed |
Apache-2.0 permits commercial use, but for legal AI specifically you must add your own disclaimers: model output is not legal advice, and qualified professionals must review any output used in practice. The license covers the code and weights — it does not certify the accuracy of legal content.
Key compliance practices include keeping the LICENSE and NOTICE files with any redistributed model files, state changes you made during fine-tuning, and never presenting the model as an official judicial or lawyer-replacement system.
How to Access and Set Up GLM Legal Open Source Models
Follow this workflow to go from discovery to a working local setup.
Review the model pages
Read the model cards for law-glm-10b and law-glm-10b-v2 on Hugging Face, including the Community tab for deployment discussions and known issues.
Prepare your environment
Install Python, PyTorch, and the Transformers library. Confirm you have roughly 40 GB of free storage for model files and a GPU with sufficient VRAM for 10B-parameter inference.
Download the model files
Pull the weights from the Hugging Face repository, choosing the variant that matches your task. Keep the license and notice files alongside the weights.
Load with trust_remote_code
GLM-family models typically require the trust_remote_code=True parameter when loading. Review the custom code before enabling it, since it executes repository code in your environment.
Test with legal prompts
Start with a narrow, document-based legal question, verify output against your source materials, and expand task complexity only after validating accuracy.
The trust_remote_code flag runs third-party modeling code locally. Audit the code in the repository first, and run inference in isolated environments when handling sensitive legal documents.
Deployment Readiness Checklist
Before You Deploy:
- Confirm Apache-2.0 license and NOTICE files are preserved
- Verify GPU memory meets 10B model inference requirements
- Audit custom modeling code before enabling trust_remote_code
- Establish human review for all legal outputs
- Add clear disclaimers that output is not legal advice
- Set up logging for citations and source verification
Teams that pair the open weights with retrieval pipelines, citation tracking, and mandatory lawyer review consistently get more reliable results than those relying on raw generation alone.
FAQ
Q: Is GLM Legal open source free to use commercially?
The model pages list Apache-2.0, which permits commercial use, redistribution, and modification, provided you retain license notices and document changes. You remain responsible for legal disclaimers and professional review of outputs.
Q: What is the difference between law-glm-10b and law-glm-10b-v2?
Both are 10B-parameter GLM-based legal models with roughly 39.5 GB of files under the law-llm organization. The v2 page represents a later release iteration; check each model card and the Community tab for version-specific notes.
Q: Where can I download GLM Legal open source weights?
From the official Hugging Face pages: law-llm/law-glm-10b and law-llm/law-glm-10b-v2. The upstream GLM code is available on GitHub at THUDM/GLM.
Q: Do I need trust_remote_code to run these models?
GLM-family models commonly require trust_remote_code=True in Transformers. Because this executes repository code locally, audit the code first and use isolated environments for sensitive workloads.