Fintech Takes Fintech Takes x Pipe presents Vertical SaaS: Fintech Disruption by a Thousand Cuts Episode 4: Build, Buy, or Partner?
Oct 13, 2025
A.J. Axelrod, VP of Payments & Financial Services at Clio, dives into the unique challenges of legal fintech. He discusses Clio's evolution from integrations to a comprehensive payments system tailored for lawyers. A.J. highlights the critical importance of compliance and trust accounts in legal payments, and how Clio balances building versus partnering. They explore contextual fintech solutions and the advantages of maintaining a distinct ledger. The conversation is packed with practical insights for navigating the complexities of vertical SaaS in finance.
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Platform For The Business Of Law
- Clio is a cloud-based legal platform that runs the business side of law firms across sizes and practices.
- A vertical OS must serve solos to large firms while addressing practice-specific workflows and compliance.
Trust Accounts Change Payments
- Legal firms use trust and operating accounts and must never net-settle client funds from trust accounts.
- That legal accounting requirement forces specialized ledger mapping, reporting, and partner training.
Design From Customer Need First
- Start product design by defining the customer need and ideal experience, not by your internal capabilities.
- Then map required compliance, timeline, and risk to decide build, buy, or partner.