Podcast
Zach Abramowitz is Legally Disrupted
Hosted by Zach Abramowitz · EN
This is a podcast for the people who want to understand and shape the future of the law.
Hey there, I'm Zach Abramowitz and I am Legally Disrupted! 15 years ago, my legal career was disrupted by tech.
Today, I'm advising the some of the most influential legal service providers in the world on their AI strategy and investing in some of the promising #legalAI startups. Every week, I talk to the builders, founders, operators, and decision-makers driving change in a legal ecosystem being reshaped by AI. We don't just revel in the gloriousness of AI -- we do that too! But, we also break down complex ideas and separate signal from noise. Our content focuses on what’s real, what matters, and what everyone else is missing. So what are you waiting for? Let's get disrupted!
16episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
E46 - AI for Judges? AAA CEO Bridget McCormack and Learned Hand CEO Shlomo Klapper
Apr 1900:50:47Tap to summarizeRecording at LegalWeek in New York, Zach sits down with Shlomo Klapper (founder of Learned Hand) and Bridget McCormack, former Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court and now CEO of the American Arbitration Association, to challenge one of the biggest double standards in legal AI: “AI for me, but not for thee.” Lawyers are now widely using AI, but the moment it touches judges or arbitrators, support drops off. That hesitation comes as courts are under real strain, with judges handling thousands of cases a year and only minutes to decide each one, and no realistic way to keep up. Shlomo describes Learned Hand’s “AI law clerk,” built to support judicial research, analysis, and drafting, while Bridget brings the perspective of someone who has both made decisions on the bench and now leads a major dispute resolution institution. The conversation moves beyond AI as an assistant and into a harder shift: AI as part of decision-making itself, and whether the system can continue to function without it. Learn More: Bridget - http://www.aaaicdrfoundation.org/director/bridget-m-mccormack Shlomo - https://www.learned-hand.ai/ Zach - https://www.legallydisrupted.com/ Follow Along: Bridget - https://www.linkedin.com/in/bridget-mary-mccormack-26700b30 Shlomo - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sklapper Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz
Transcribe →E45 - How to Get a Job at Legora, Harvey and Other Legal AI Startups, Kyle Poe, VP of Legal Innovation at Legora
Apr 300:45:18Tap to summarizeWhat does it actually look like to go from practicing law to building the future of legal AI? In this episode, Zach speaks with Kyle Poe, former Big Law partner and now a leader at Legora, about his unconventional path from litigation to legal tech. Kyle shares how early frustrations with outdated legal workflows pushed him to build internal tools, why generative AI changed everything, and what it really takes to break into the legal AI space today. They also dive into how billing models are evolving, the emergence of the “legal engineer,” and why relationships and adaptability may matter more than ever in an AI-driven legal industry. In this episode: How Kyle transitioned from Big Law to a leading role in legal AI Why generative AI is a true inflection point for legal practice The emergence of the “legal engineer” and new career paths for lawyers What lawyers get wrong about breaking into legal tech—and how to do it right How AI is shifting legal careers toward relationships, adaptability, and high-agency work Learn More: Kyle - https://legora.com/blog/a-window-of-opportunity-the-lawyer-rewiring-legal-practice-for-the-ai-age Zach - https://www.legallydisrupted.com/ Follow Along: Kyle - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jkylepoe Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz
Transcribe →E44 - Building a Law Firm and a Product: LawPro.ai Co-Founder and Zirkin Schmerling Partner, Josh Schmerling
Mar 2600:31:56Tap to summarizeZach Abramowitz sits down with Josh Schmerling, partner at Zirkin & Schmerling and co-founder of LawPro.ai, to explore how building technology inside a law firm is reshaping personal injury practice. Josh shares how an internal tool for processing medical records evolved into a broader litigation platform, and what it means to commercialize a product while still running a high-volume plaintiff’s firm. The conversation dives into product-market fit, adoption dynamics, and how tech, combined with private equity, could fundamentally change the competitive landscape of PI law. In this episode: How an internal tool became a market-facing legal tech product The advantages (and tensions) of building software inside a law firm What drives real product-market fit in legal tech Adoption trends across personal injury firms The role of private equity in reshaping the PI ecosystem Learn More: Josh - https://www.lawpro.ai/team/josh-schmerling Zach - https://www.legallydisrupted.com/ Follow Along: Josh - https://www.linkedin.com/in/josh-schmerling-287489ab Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz
Transcribe →E43 - AI and the Future of In-House Legal, Sandstone Co-Founder Jarryd Strydom
Mar 1900:39:46Tap to summarizeWhat are in-house lawyers actually doing with AI right now? In this episode, Zach speaks with Jarryd Strydom, co-founder of Sandstone, about what he learned from a cross-country road trip meeting with corporate legal teams across the United States. They discuss how legal departments are experimenting with AI tools, the growing “build vs. buy” debate as lawyers explore vibe-coding their own workflows, and why legacy legal tech infrastructure may struggle in an AI-native world. In this episode: What in-house lawyers across the U.S. are actually doing with AI today The rise of “vibe coding” and the new build vs. buy debate for legal teams Why traditional CLM systems often fail to capture real business context How AI could finally unlock institutional legal knowledge inside companies Why legal teams are being pushed to adopt AI as other departments move faster How AI might reshape the structure of in-house legal teams What junior lawyers should be thinking about in an AI-driven legal market Learn More: Jarryd - https://www.event.law.com/corpcounsel-gcc-east/speaker/2017419/jarryd-strydom Zach - https://www.legallydisrupted.com/ Follow Along: Jarryd - https://www.linkedin.com/in/jarrydstrydom Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz
Transcribe →E42 - Is Legal AI in Trouble or Just Getting Started? Cosmonauts Founder, Timo Karakashev
Mar 1100:44:11Tap to summarizeJust in time for Legal Week, Zach sits down Cosmonauts founder and legal tech insider Timo Karakashev for a wide-ranging conversation about where the legal AI market really stands. Timo shares what he’s seeing on the ground: growing demand for “premium” legal AI tools, dissatisfaction with generic enterprise AI solutions, and a market that’s still in the very early innings of adoption. In this episode: Why legal AI tools like Harvey and Legora feel “premium” compared to generic AI The growing dissatisfaction with enterprise AI tools like Copilot Why demand for intelligence in legal work far exceeds human supply How legal AI adoption differs across regions, including Australia The debate over whether AI will disrupt or strengthen the SaaS model Why IP law has historically lagged in tech adoption and why that’s changing How legal tech conferences are evolving to focus more on practitioners and operators Why innovation at the top of the market could eventually improve access to justice Learn More: Timo - https://www.crunchbase.com/person/timo-karakashev Zach - https://www.legallydisrupted.com/ Follow Along: Timo - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/timo-from-cosmonauts Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz
Transcribe →E35 - Are Legal AI Assistants Moving In-House? GC AI Founder Cecilia Ziniti
Jan 13Tap to summarizeZach speaks with Cecilia Ziniti, founder and CEO of GC AI, about why in-house legal teams are often ahead of law firms when it comes to adopting AI - and what that signals for the future of the profession. Drawing on her experience as a former general counsel and AI leader, Cecilia explains why legal AI must be purpose-built for real workflows, how trust and precision shape adoption, and why lawyers who learn to work with AI will gain a lasting edge. In this episode: Why in-house legal teams are leading AI adoption The limits of generic AI tools for legal work What lawyers actually need from AI systems Trust, accuracy, and citations in legal AI How AI is reshaping legal workflows and roles What it means to be an “AI-native” lawyer Learn More: Zach - legallydisrupted.com Cecilia - https://gc.ai/company/about Follow Along: Zach - linkedin.com/in/zachabramowitz Cecilia - https://www.linkedin.com/in/ceciliaziniti
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