Tuesday, April 28, 2026

8:00 - 9:00 Breakfast & Networking

9:00 - 9:15 Opening Remarks 

Anand Upadhye, Founder and CEO of AlphaLit, will kick off the conference. Anand draws on a rare combination of experiences—from prosecuting cases and litigating at a major firm, to helping to scale Casetext from pre‑revenue to a $650 million exit to Thomson Reuters. Since founding AlphaLit, he’s originated and structured over $150 million in case value in just two years, uniting legal expertise with fintech innovation. His opening remarks will set the tone for the event—grounded in firsthand legal experience and powered by visionary legal technology leadership. 

Conference Chair: Anand Upadhye, Founder and CEO of AlphaLit

9:15 - 10:00 The Legal Tech Bubble Paradox: Why the Real Story Is Market Maturity, Not Hype

Despite bubble talk dominating headlines, legal tech isn’t inflating—it’s evolving. The explosion of GenAI tools, faster product adoption, and newfound investor interest signal not irrational exuberance, but a long-overdue recalibration of a historically undervalued sector.

This discussion will address: 

• What GenAI really changed: Why law firms are saying “yes” faster—and why some startups are scaling to $20M ARR in record time.

• Bubble or Breakthrough? How to separate market hype from meaningful traction and why explosive growth may be a sign of healthy market evolution.

• What this means for buyers: Why law firm leaders should evaluate outcomes, not funding rounds, and how to spot tools that actually solve business problems.

• What this means for founders and investors: Why chasing real adoption beats chasing headlines, and how to build and back sustainable legal tech ventures in this high-velocity market.

This session bridges the perspectives of law firm buyers, legal tech founders, and investors to get beyond the hype cycle and deliver a clear-eyed view of what sustainable growth looks like in legal’s AI era.

Speakers:

Gordon Crenshaw, Partner, The LegalTech Fund

Katon Luaces, Co-Founder, PointOne

Rachel Dooley, Chief Innovation Officer, Kirkland & Ellis

Ted Theodoropoulos, CEO, Infodash - Moderator

10:00 - 10:45 Co-Development in Action: How Paul Weiss and Harvey Are Shaping the Future of Legal AI

Co-development has become a proving ground for what legal technology can truly deliver—and few partnerships illustrate its potential better than the collaboration between Paul Weiss and Harvey. This session offers a rare inside look at how one of the world’s most sophisticated law firms is working hand-in-hand with an AI pioneer to shape tools that reflect the real-world needs of legal practitioners.

Representatives from both Paul Weiss and Harvey will walk through the lifecycle of their partnership—from identifying firm-specific challenges to aligning on product vision, running iterative pilots, refining based on feedback, and embedding the solution into the firm's workflow. We’ll explore how this dynamic differs from a traditional vendor-client relationship, how trust and transparency shape successful co-development, and what others can learn about structuring these high-impact collaborations.

What makes a firm a good innovation partner? And what makes a provider “ready” to co-develop with an AmLaw firm? What are the risks and rewards of inviting clients into the development process? How do providers balance product vision with firm-specific demands? And how can investors identify the co-development models most likely to scale?

If you're building legal tech, investing in it, or implementing it within a firm, this session offers a practical blueprint for breaking the mold—and building the future together.

Speakers:

Gina Lynch, Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer, Paul Weiss

Lauren Hudson, AI Innovation Attorney, Paul Weiss

Aatish Nayak, VP of Product, Harvey

Inna Jackson, Director of AI Innovation Strategy, Paul Weiss

10:50 - 11:30 Morning Break & Sponsor Demo Rooms

11:35 - 12:20 Solutions Showcase Stages 

Legal technology companies take the stage to pitch their products, services, and vision to an audience of investors and buyers. This fast-paced session is designed to generate high-quality deal flow by offering investors a first look at promising startups and gives buyers a snapshot of technology tools worth exploring.

12:25 - 1:10 Breakout Sessions - KM&I Crossover Opportunity

Get to know a little about the world of Knowledge Management & Innovation with this crossover session opportunity. With four breakout sessions, there’s something for everyone. Whether you’re new to KM&I, a seasoned KM&I leader, an up-and- coming director / manager, or a KM&I Attorney, your people are here and ready to discuss the issues and challenges that affect you.

C-Suite Roundtable:

For more experienced attendees. If you're the head of KM or innovation at your organization (irrespective of your title) join your fellow leaders at this exclusive collaborative, discussion-based, breakout roundtable event. Note: This breakout session is exclusive to heads of KM or innovation at law firms or in-house legal departments. No exceptions.

Facilitator: Evan Shenkman, Chief Knowledge & Innovation Officer, Fisher Phillips

Knowledge Management & Innovation 101:

If you're new to KM & Innovation, or even have a couple of years of experience, this hands-on, collaborative workshop is for you. Get the big picture of KM and innovation, figure out how you fit in, and chart a path for your future in the profession.

Facilitator: Michael Korn, Director Knowledge & Innovation, Paul Hastings

Knowledge Management & Innovation Attorneys:

Tailored for lawyers working at the intersection of knowledge management and practice. Explore the unique challenges and opportunities of integrating KM strategies into legal workflows. Engage in discussions and collaborate with peers on how to leverage KM to enhance client service, improve efficiency, and stay ahead in a rapidly evolving legal landscape.

Facilitator: Ali Shahidi, Managing Director for Innovation, O’Melveny & Myers

Directors, Managers, Analysts, & Coordinators:

Designed for those leading KM and innovation initiatives from the front lines. This session will focus on the tactical challenges and opportunities you face in driving change within your teams and organizations. Share best practices, discuss common obstacles, and collaborate on solutions with peers in similar roles.

Facilitator: Conan Hines, Director of Practice Innovation, Fried Frank

1:10 - 2:00 Lunch / Demo Rooms / Solutions Showcase Stage

2:05 - 2:50 From Ideation to Exit: Legal Learnings through the Lifecycle of a Software Startup

From an idea on a whiteboard to successful acquisition, the story of Skematic is a rare inside look at the complete legal tech startup journey. In this candid, founder-led session, the Skematic team—joined by their General Counsel and investment banker—will unpack the pivotal decisions, growing pains, and strategic turning points that shaped their path from product ideation to exit.

With a particular focus on the endgame, this conversation will explore how thinking backward from a desired exit helped clarify priorities, shape the cap table, and determine what kind of buyer to attract. The group will also reflect on lessons learned around legal strategy, investor alignment, and the importance of surrounding yourself with the right advisors—while avoiding the “too many cooks” dilemma.

Whether you're a founder, operator, or investor, this session offers actionable insights into how to build with an exit in mind—what to anticipate, what to avoid, and what they wish they’d known sooner.

Speakers:
Andrew Forman, Director, Head of Verticalized Software, Data & Analytics - LegalTech Investment Banking Group, TD Cowen
Brian Kesselman, Co-Founder, Chief Revenue Officer, Skematic
Daniel Stern, General Counsel, Skematic; Founder, Stern /\ Summit Law

2:50 - 3:30 Building the AI-Native Tech Stack: Lessons from Gunderson’s Path from Pilot to Platform

Gunderson Dettmer has moved beyond pilots to build a fully integrated, AI-native stack. This case study traces the firm’s path from early AI experimentation to the launch of ChatGD, through layered tools like DeepJudge and Perplexity, culminating in “Agentic Answers” — an advanced capability combining firm precedent, knowledge, and web search. Attendees will learn how Gunderson designed its build-versus-buy approach, drove adoption, and evolved its platform to deliver tangible value to lawyers and clients. The discussion will highlight lessons learned, key adoption strategies, and the implications of “agentic” workflows for the broader market.

Speakers:

Stephanie Goutos, Head of Employment Law Practice Innovation, Gunderson Dettmer

Joe Green, Chief Innovation Officer, Gunderson Dettmer

Yannic Kilcher, CTO, Co-Founder, DeepJudge

3:30 - 4:05 Afternoon Break & Sponsor Demo Rooms

4:10 - 4:40 AI and the Rise of the Wisdom Economy: What History Tells Us About the Future of Legal Work

In this provocative keynote, Rudy DeFelice, Global Head of Harbor Labs, examines how historical technology revolutions have reshaped human work and ignited new waves of demand. Drawing on the Agricultural Revolution, the invention of the printing press, and today's AI transformation, Rudy makes a bold case: AI won't eliminate legal work—it will exponentially increase demand for it.

As automation unlocks access to legal infrastructure and lowers transactional barriers, legal services will no longer be luxury goods reserved for the few. Instead, we’re entering an era of mass legal enablement—where new businesses, regulatory complexity, and global economic activity create an unprecedented need for human judgment and legal stewardship.

But in a world where machines hold infinite knowledge, what becomes of the human role? Rudy introduces the idea of a “Wisdom Economy,” where human value lies not in data retrieval but in discernment, empathy, and moral reasoning. This is the lawyer’s new frontier: blending the scalable power of AI with the timeless—and increasingly scarce—qualities of wisdom and compassion.

This presentation will challenge attendees to reframe the AI conversation from threat to opportunity and embrace the legal profession’s emerging role as both accelerator and ethical steward in a rapidly evolving world.

Speaker: Rudy DeFelice, Global Head, Harbor Labs

4:40 - 4:50 Closing Remarks 

Host: Anand Upadhye, Founder and CEO of AlphaLit

5:00 - 6:00 Networking Cocktail Party & LexPrize Award Ceremony