‘Clients do not buy code, they buy courage’: Legal leaders at LegalTechTalk 2026 discuss how law firms are built from the ground up

At LegalTechTalk 2026, a panel titled "What If You Were to Build a Law Firm from the Ground Up?" examined the future of legal practice. Moderated by Rory O'Keeffe and featuring Clare Murray, Lucy Murphy, Shainul Kassam, and Paul Foster, the discussion moved beyond AI to address structural, financial, and operational questions. The panel agreed that firms must treat data as their most valuable asset and courage as their core product. Key points included the need for clarity of purpose, the evolving role of external capital, and the necessity of adapting the partnership model to include productized and subscription-based services. Future lawyers will need to reach judgment faster and combine legal, technological, and commercial skills. The panel also highlighted the risks of AI-generated client instructions and the importance of disciplined technology adoption. Ultimately, the speakers concluded that clients pay for judgment and courage, not just code, and that success depends on combining legal expertise, technological capability, and human judgment.

(Source：Scconline)