LegalTech’s “Open Source” Moment!
With AI usage for legal approaching “near-universal” adoption, the sector continues to evolve at an astounding pace.
Directly on the heels of the debut of Anthropic’s “Claude for Legal,” which it debuted just shortly before filing for IPO this week, The Information reported last week on a “fresh assault” on LegalTech’s major players: “Some law firms now want to develop their own AI apps with frontier model companies like Anthropic or OpenAI rather than just purchase apps from smaller legal startups.”
The article cited the announcement by Kirkland & Ellis, the largest law firm by gross revenue last year, that it plans to spend $500 million to develop its own AI apps, as well as Freshfields collaboration with Anthropic to develop a legal AI tool for its 4,000 attorneys, in exchange for early access to the company’s models.
Amid these big moves towards in-house building by major firms, there was also big news on another front: open source is also gaining traction in LegalTech.
Monica Zent is an entrepreneur, investor, business strategist, and legal industry innovator with two successful exits. A seasoned founder and patented inventor, she brings deep expertise in legal operations, contract lifecycle management, change management, and technology-driven business transformation. Monica is a trusted advisor to global brands and enterprise legal teams seeking to improve efficiency, reduce risk, and accelerate growth.
She is the Founder and CEO of ZentLaw, one of the leading Alternative Legal Services Providers (ALSPs) in the United States, and the creator of ZentLaw Labs, a LegalTech innovation platform. Throughout her career, Monica has pioneered AI-powered solutions for legal teams, including contract clause generation technology, legal AI chatbots, and collaborative workflow tools such as LawDesk360. Her work focuses on helping organizations modernize legal operations and successfully navigate change in an increasingly complex business environment.
-
Exploring the Consumer LegalTech Landscape
“AI promises to make work more productive for lawyers, but there’s a problem: Their clients are using it, too,” Axios wrote last week. All eyes last week were on the impact that Anthropic’s legal-specific tool would have on enterprise LegalTech. Meanwhile, consumers are also looking to foundation model AI to address legal questions and needs.…
-
Record Highs, Record Lows: Tracking the Shifting VC Landscape
For venture capital, 2025 was remarkable for highs and lows. Among the highs: Two of the three biggest quarters ever for venture funding took place last year. And, the lows: Overall, firms closed a record-low number of funds. This dichotomy inspires this edition of Venture Legal, exploring some of the ways in which the VC…
-
LegalTech 2026 AI Trends to Watch
Business Insider recently wrote, “For many lawyers, 2025 was the year when using AI became mandatory.” Following a year in which AI became a foregone conclusion for the industry, and in which AI-powered LegalTech became a VC and media darling, what’s next for LegalTech in 2026? This edition of Venture Legal examines five key trends…
