March 22, 2024
The Institute of Law, Technology & Innovation at Florida State University’s College of Law hosted a thought-provoking virtual discussion between featured guest Zach Posner, co-founder and managing partner of The LegalTech Fund, and Professor Scott J. Shapiro, the Charles F. Southmayd Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy at Yale Law School.
The event, titled “Investing in Legal Technology: A Talk by the Managing Partner of the Leading Legal Tech Venture Capital Firm,” took place on Friday, March 22, 2024. Posner, a pioneer in the legal technology investment landscape, shared valuable insights on the role of venture capital in the legal industry and the unique characteristics of the legal tech market.
The discussion addressed a broad array of topics, starting with the general question of what venture capital is, and ranging widely to the concluding question of what advice Posner would give to those interested in launching a start-up in this space. Along the way, Posner and Shapiro also covered what “legal tech” is and what its segments include, what important but little-known innovations and developments have emerged in legal tech, what criteria Posner and The LegalTech Fund consider when making investment decisions, the role of artificial intelligence in the legal profession, and how law school students should anticipate and respond to changes in technology, among other subjects.
The conversation was replete with significant insights. For example, Posner described how legal technology increases access to legal services rather than reducing demand for attorneys and their services. “It’s not a zero-sum game. Technology’s not taking business away from folks,” Posner said. “It’s going to create new markets, and these could be trillion-dollar markets, if we get it right.”
Professor Shapiro, who recently authored a book on the philosophy and technology of hacking, drew upon both his expertise in technology and his decades of teaching experience to pose questions that would be relevant to law students and attorneys early in their careers. Posner shared his prediction that tech know-how will allow attorneys to add more value to the firms at which they work. “The ones that understand technology are going to be the ones that are going to be in extraordinary demand,” Posner said.
FSU Law Dean Erin O’Hara O’Connor introduced both Posner and Shapiro at the beginning of the event, calling them “friends of our law and tech community here at FSU.”
Aaron Voloj Dessauer, the inaugural executive director of the Institute of Law, Technology & Innovation, expressed his enthusiasm for the event, stating, “This discussion with Zach Posner and Professor Shapiro exemplifies the Institute’s mission to explore the intersection of law and technology. By bringing together brilliant experts from academia and industry, we aim to provide our students and the broader legal community with invaluable insights into the future of legal practice and the role of technology in shaping it.”
This event marked the ninth installment of the Institute’s “Frontiers in Law and Technology” lunchtime webinar series, which features academics, practitioners, and technological experts exploring the science and ethics of technological advancements such as artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Most of these webinars are eligible for Continuing Legal Education (CLE) credit.