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
