Are AI First Firms a Threat To Biglaw?
Episode 49 features AI first law firm founder Logan Brown
Is Big Law about to become the Yellow Pages? Hey, I didn’t say it, but ex-Cooley lawyer turned AI first law firm Logan Brown did. The question is do I agree?
Hey there, I’m Zach Abramowitz and I am Legally Disrupted. And, I am still dragging a bit from a long road trip and, like Willie Nelson, I’m about to be on the road again.
Lately, I’ve noticed a pattern. Law firms are incredibly obsessed with how they should be using AI. They are focused on buying the right tools, tracking adoption rates, and training associates on platforms like Harvey or Legora. But they aren’t spending nearly enough time asking what their business needs to actually become now that AI exists.
For example, what happens when your top-tier lawyers master these AI tools, connect the dots, and realize they don’t actually need the massive Big Law infrastructure to build a highly lucrative practice?
Well, we don’t have to guess. On episode 49 of the podcast, I sat down with Logan Brown, who followed that exact journey.
Logan was an associate at Cooley using Harvey when she realized there was an entirely new business model waiting to be built to service an untapped market of early-stage startups. She left to found Soxton.ai, an AI-first law firm that acts as an outside, AI-powered GC.
Instead of the traditional billable hour, they charge flat fees like $100 for a contract review or $50 to ask a lawyer a quick question via chat. She’s already got over 40 attorneys on the platform. And in a departure from the traditional partnership track, she actually chose to raise venture capital so she could scale the firm like a tech company and tackle the access-to-justice gap.
Naturally, not everyone is thrilled about this disruption. Since coming out of stealth, Logan has been receiving a surge of hate mail from existing lawyers, including a Biglaw partner who emails her once a month just to tell her how horrible she is. Despite the blowback, Logan is making a massive bet on the AI-first model, predicting that in five years, traditional Big Law firms will be looked at like the Yellow Pages.
I’m not sure I agree. And I think you’re more likely to come to that conclusion if you’ve been an associate but not a partner — especially a rainmaker. But I do think the AI first firms have a compelling proposition. I’m also biased. Many of the AmLaw 200 firms are clients of mine, and I specifically am working with them on staying current and not turning into the Yellow Pages. But, Logan was a great guest and a lot of lawyers who are thinking about stating or converting a practice into “AI first” will find this conversation really useful.
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This wasn’t my most popular post on X this week, but it was my personal favorite. I’m still giggling over it. And yes, I frequently laugh at my own jokes.
