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a16z Podcast · 3 min · Oct 30, 2026
Routine legal back-and-forth may move between agents
Jay Madheswaran expects agents to handle more routine exchanges while lawyers apply client and local context.
In this episode
Full episode- 3:37AI can make smaller legal cases viable for contingency firms5 min
- 20:12Eve builds legal knowledge from cases that never become public5 min
- 29:02Routine legal back-and-forth may move between agents3 min
- 36:15AI could help niche firms compete beyond their local markets3 min
“I think a lot more cases are going to have teeth and all the routine back and forths, I think is going to happen through agents talking to agents.”
Takeaways
- Jay expects routine case exchanges to happen through agents.
- Lawyers bring knowledge of the client, facts, and local legal environment.
- Eve customers are already spending more time on trial work.
About this segment
Jay Madheswaran expects agents to handle more routine exchanges while lawyers apply client and local context. He sees human advocacy remaining important as more cases become viable for trial.
Jay Madheswaran is cofounder and CEO of Eve.
Erik Torenberg, Host · General partner, Andreessen Horowitz
Helped build Product Hunt; founded On Deck, Village Global and Turpentine.
From “Why AI Could Turn Small Law Firms Into Billion-Dollar Businesses”, Oct 30, 2026. Watch the full episode
Answers “Which jobs will AI replace, and which are safe?” See all 121 answers
Answers “What will AI look like in the next few years?” See all 150 answers
Thanks. We'll look at and fix what's off.
Transcript
Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.
- 29:14
Yeah, I mean, ultimately, my framework for thinking about this is ultimately when you have an individual, they're going to need representation. Whether that representation, like who does the work on the representation, you can assume it's 99% AI, maybe 99.9% AI. There's always going to be that little bit that is the human touch, right? And we do believe that people are going to make a positive difference to the outcomes of the case.
- 29:42
And that is exactly what you have, right? So like what you have on the defense side or really institution side is what's always happened, which is they have more resources, they have more money, they have more time, which is actually another weapon they have, which is quite powerful. Individuals are in debt to pay their fees. and that is a very powerful tool they have. And that is the strengths they're working with and they're trying to rely on centralization and standardization.
- 30:12
On the defense side, you have a attorney that is fighting your case and pushing them to get to litigation. And I think that is going to be what happens. I think a lot more cases are going to have teeth and all the routine back and forths, I think is going to happen through agents talking to agents. I think that's, you know, it's crazy future world, but I think that's where we're headed to. And the difference maker is what does the attorney understand about that client, that set of facts, and their local environment of who they're going up against locally in that defense firm. And they're using that insight to make a difference for their client. And I don't think that ever goes away.
- 30:56
it's in fact something we're seeing already where many customers on Eve are actually choosing to spend more time on their trial work because it actually enables that previously going to trial took down an entire firm suddenly you're just spending all your time doing trial trial prep interviewing juries you want things to settle exactly it's more of a settlement motion that's exactly right and instead I think things are going more into real advocacy how do I actually make our point known how do I you know my client is against back of the wall they're doing bad things they're doing good things how do i represent them