From Adoption to Scale: How AI Is Influencing Legal Tech Business Mode
Legora CEO Shares Perspective on Legal Tech, M&A and Growth
At Baird’s 2026 Global Consumer, Technology & Services Conference, discussion of M&A and AI took center stage for the Legal and Compliance Technology & Services team. Kristy Obuchowski, Managing Director in Baird’s Global Technology & Services Group, sat down with David Eckstein, CFO of Legora, to discuss how AI is reshaping the legal tech landscape and how leading players, like Legora are defining the category through both innovation and M&A.
The conversation made one thing clear: legal AI is not a slow evolution, it’s a rapid, structural shift. The discussion highlighted several themes shaping the market:
- Legal AI is a land grab measured in months, not years. The market represents a ~$40B software opportunity within a ~$1T legal services industry, now undergoing rapid disruption as human labor shifts to automation. This is a “land grab” moment measured in months, not years.
- The growth curve is genuinely unprecedented.Companies like Legora are scaling at record speed, among the fastest ever from $1M to $100M ARR, underscoring how quickly leaders are emerging.
- M&A is a core weapon, not a side strategy.To keep pace, winners in this space are not only building but are also buying for innovation. Legora alone has closed four acquisitions this year.
- Multiple winners are emerging. Rapid growth is creating multiple multi-billion-dollar opportunities across the legal AI landscape, rather than a single dominant player.
- The pricing model is being rewritten in real time. Pricing is moving from seat-based to consumption-based. The “death of the billable hour” remains overstated as fixed-fee and RFP-driven pricing continue to dominate many engagements.
- AI demand is shifting downstream. While large law firms are the biggest early adopters, AI usage is increasingly moving downstream, with corporates expected to play a much larger role in adopting legal AI across their operations.
- Consolidation ahead. Private equity and structural changes in law firms are driving continued consolidation and fueling rapid change across the sector.
The pace of change in legal AI is extraordinary and only accelerating. Connect with Baird’s Legal and Compliance Tech & Services team to explore what these trends mean for your business and the broader legal landscape.
