AI tools are more capable than ever, and most law firms and law departments are capturing a small share of what the technology can already do. Host Zena Applebaum is joined by Harbor CEO Matt Sunderman; Zach Posner, co-founder and managing director of The LegalTech Fund; and Mary O’Carroll, CEO of Legal Engineering Consulting Group and host of Pearls On, Gloves Off. Together they look at why value is lagging the technology, what it takes to change how the work gets done, how investors and buyers each measure value, and the signal that will show the market has changed.

What we cover:

• An industry that has never rewarded efficiency, meeting technology many times more capable than it was three years ago
• What successful implementation takes, from legal engineers to re-engineering how work is delivered
• The gap between valuation and the value clients see today
• Who should benefit when legal work gets faster
• Whether incumbents or AI natives are better placed to win
• The one signal each guest is watching over the next 12 months

Listen to the full episode on

• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• YouTube

Key moments:

• 01:35 – Mary on the billable hour and pricing for value
• 03:37 – Zach on “$13,000 engagement, 52 cents of compute”
• 06:12 – Matt on an industry that has never rewarded efficiency
• 08:40 – What a successful implementation looks like
• 11:17 – Matt on the gap between AI capability and measurable productivity
• 14:56 – Does a high valuation mean better outcomes for buyers?
• 19:28 – Matt on bridging the art of the possible and the current state
• 20:15 – Who should capture the value of faster legal work
• 24:54 – Can the incumbents win?
• 29:42 – Consolidation and the market in 2028
• 31:56 – The one signal to watch