Building to Last: Legal AI & Engineering with Ross McNairn

Ross McNairn, CEO and Founder of Wordsmith, brings a rare perspective to legal tech - lawyer turned software engineer turned CTO at companies like Skyscanner and TravelPerk.

Our conversation spans Ross's transition from being a trainee solicitor navigating Scottish estate law to leading one of the world's fastest-growing legal AI companies, his philosophy on building lasting products over quick wins, and why he believes we're entering the era of "legal engineering."

What We Cover:

Building Philosophy: Why Ross spent a year quietly iterating rather than rushing to market with an MVP wrapper.

The UK Opportunity: How Britain's legal heritage and technical talent create untapped advantages in the AI race.

Legal Engineering Revolution: Ross's five-level competency framework transforming lawyers into product-minded operators.

Market Evolution: Why the generalist legal AI era is ending and specialization is the future.

Three Key Takeaways:

1. Quality Over Speed Wins Long-Term: Ross's mantra: "I don't want to be the first tool that everybody buys. I want to be the last tool that they buy." While competitors rush wrappers to market, disciplined product development with 95% engineers and lawyers creates lasting competitive advantages through superior reliability and user experience.

2. Legal Engineering is the New Frontier: The future belongs to lawyers who think like product managers. Ross describes customers building sophisticated systems with 50+ interconnected agents—a glimpse into legal practice where workflow orchestration, not individual task automation, drives value for in-house teams managing constant business demands.

3. Invisible Quality Creates Unbeatable Moats: While everyone debates model capabilities, Wordsmith are developing rigorous "evals" testing frameworks defining world-class legal outputs.

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