The $100m legal AI startup transforming in-house teams: Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn on turning legal into a revenue driver

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The Non-Billable Podcast

Non-Billable

29 episodes

5 days ago

The Non-Billable Podcast takes UK legal professionals beyond the billable hour, bringing you interviews with top lawyers, law firm leaders, industry experts and legal tech innovators to uncover actionable insights on the business of law, career growth and the future of the industry. Hosted by Oliver Attinger, a former finance lawyer at a leading City law firm with in-house experience at an investment bank - now asking the questions he wished he had when he was practising. Brought to you by Non-Billable, the go-to newsletter for City lawyers, in-house counsel, and legal professionals.

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The $100m legal AI startup transforming in-house teams: Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn on turning legal into a revenue driver

The Non-Billable Podcast

34 minutes 54 seconds

3 months ago

The $100m legal AI startup transforming in-house teams: Wordsmith CEO Ross McNairn on turning legal into a revenue driver

Ross McNairn is the founder and CEO of Wordsmith, one of the fastest-growing legal AI startups in Europe. In this episode, Ross shares how Wordsmith is rethinking the in-house legal function - not just with automation, but with a new model for how legal teams can triage and respond to the rest of the business using AI agents.

We talk through the challenges of in-house legal teams, why Wordsmith is laser-focused on corporate legal rather than law firms, and how AI assistants are shifting legal from being perceived as a blocker to a true business enabler. Ross also explains how their customers - including companies like Trustpilot - are using the platform to improve responsiveness and efficiency across functions.

Ross opens up about raising $25 million from Index Ventures, how Wordsmith became the fastest Scottish company to hit a $100 million valuation, and why they’ve been disciplined about staying lean, product-led, and focused on usage over hype. He also shares his thoughts on legal AI funding trends, the law firm vs in-house tech split, and the future of generalist vs vertical solutions in the space.

Whether you’re a GC thinking about legal AI adoption, a lawyer eyeing a career move into tech, or just curious about how legal is changing from the inside, this is a conversation with a founder building at the forefront of the industry.

Chapters

00:45 From Law to Software

00:53 The Role of AI in Legal Workflows

02:11 Introducing Wordsmith

05:08 AI Agents: Enhancing Legal Productivity

08:08 Customer Success Stories: Real-World Impact of Wordsmith

10:57 Sales Strategy: Building Trust in Legal Tech

13:55 Funding and Future Plans: Scaling Wordsmith

16:30 Building a Lean Company

17:27 Hiring for Legal Intelligence

19:06 Motivations For People Joining Wordsmith

20:50 Competitors in the Legal Tech Space

21:17 Wordsmith's Suite of Tools

22:16 Future of Legal Tech Solutions

23:38 Impact of Recent Partnerships in Legal Tech

26:02 Data Needs for In-House Legal Teams

28:00 Investment Boom in Legal Tech

29:27 Wordsmith's Strategy for Success

32:31 Trends in Legal Tech

33:25 Hiring Challenges at Wordsmith

34:01 Vision for Wordsmith in 2030

About Non-Billable

Non-Billable is the media company for modern legal professionals across private practice, in-house and legal tech.

Visit our website: ⁠⁠https://www.nonbillable.co.uk