The $100m legal AI startup transforming in-house teams: Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn on turning legal into a revenue driver

Ross McNairn is the founder and CEO of Wordsmith, one of the fastest-growing legal AI startups in Europe. In this episode, Ross shares how Wordsmith is rethinking the in-house legal function - not just with automation, but with a new model for how legal teams can triage and respond to the rest of the business using AI agents.

We talk through the challenges of in-house legal teams, why Wordsmith is laser-focused on corporate legal rather than law firms, and how AI assistants are shifting legal from being perceived as a blocker to a true business enabler. Ross also explains how their customers - including companies like Trustpilot - are using the platform to improve responsiveness and efficiency across functions.

Ross opens up about raising $25 million from Index Ventures, how Wordsmith became the fastest Scottish company to hit a $100 million valuation, and why they’ve been disciplined about staying lean, product-led, and focused on usage over hype. He also shares his thoughts on legal AI funding trends, the law firm vs in-house tech split, and the future of generalist vs vertical solutions in the space.

Whether you’re a GC thinking about legal AI adoption, a lawyer eyeing a career move into tech, or just curious about how legal is changing from the inside, this is a conversation with a founder building at the forefront of the industry.

Chapters

00:45 From Law to Software

00:53 The Role of AI in Legal Workflows

02:11 Introducing Wordsmith

05:08 AI Agents: Enhancing Legal Productivity

08:08 Customer Success Stories: Real-World Impact of Wordsmith

10:57 Sales Strategy: Building Trust in Legal Tech

13:55 Funding and Future Plans: Scaling Wordsmith

16:30 Building a Lean Company

17:27 Hiring for Legal Intelligence

19:06 Motivations For People Joining Wordsmith

20:50 Competitors in the Legal Tech Space

21:17 Wordsmith's Suite of Tools

22:16 Future of Legal Tech Solutions

23:38 Impact of Recent Partnerships in Legal Tech

26:02 Data Needs for In-House Legal Teams

28:00 Investment Boom in Legal Tech

29:27 Wordsmith's Strategy for Success

32:31 Trends in Legal Tech

33:25 Hiring Challenges at Wordsmith

34:01 Vision for Wordsmith in 2030

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