VC | E342 | Panel discussion on the intersection of Law & Tech - a deep dive into legal innovation

In this episode of the EUVC podcast, we prepared a new panel discussion with our friend Tom McGinn, General Counsel at Northzone. We’ve been looking forward to having a conversation on this topic for a long time, especially after Generative AI gained traction. So, without too much ado, let’s dive into all things LegalTech.

We are joined by:

• Zach Posner, Co-Founder & Managing Director at The LegalTech Fund, a dedicated investor across the globe that focuses on the legal community and companies transforming the world of law.
• Shruthi Ajitzaria, Partner at A&O Shearman, a former derivatives lawyer, who about seven years ago, launched Fuse, an incubator focused on LegalTech.
• Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, CEO & Co-Founder at Definely, a LegalTech company that provides a unified solution for lawyers by simplifying access and understanding of legal documents.

The discussion centers on the evolving legal tech industry, highlighting the importance of bridging legal and tech expertise, understanding customer pain points, and creating strong user experiences. It also addresses the role of AI, particularly language models, in shaping the future of legal tech while noting the challenges posed by regulatory constraints and the differences between the European and US legal tech markets.

Chapters:

• 03:46 Defining Legal Tech
• 04:47 Legal Tech as a Vertical vs. Horizontal
• 08:58 The Evolution of Legal Tech
• 10:44 Legal Tech's Growing Market
• 11:31 Legal Tech Landscape Map
• 16:08 Generative AI in Legal Tech
• 17:11 Challenges and Opportunities in Legal Tech
• 23:21 Future of Legal Tech
• 28:57 The Ideal Legal Tech Entrepreneur
• 29:52 Importance of Legal and Product Knowledge
• 32:58 Challenges in Legal Tech
• 48:09 Regulatory Constraints and Opportunities
• 51:18 Legal Tech in Europe vs. the US
• 57:15 The Impact of Deregulation
• 58:32 Closing Thoughts on Legal Tech