In major legal industry news, global law company Elevate announced its acquisition of the legal AI technology and consulting firm LexPredict. The move combines the comprehensive legal services offering of Elevate with the data science team and AI engine of LexPredict. With Elevate's alternative services model and LexPredict's cutting-edge technology, does this acquisition foreshadow the future of legal practice?

In this episode of LawNext, we take a deep dive into the acquisition and what it means for the legal industry. Joining host Bob Ambrogi are two of the deal's principles:

• Pratik Patel, vice president of innovation at Elevate. Patel oined Elevate as part of the acquisition of RFx LEGAL Analytics in 2012, prior to which he served as a founding member and partner at RFx LEGAL. Earlier, he was a senior managing consultant at Huron Legal, where he played a key role in the rapid growth of Huron's Legal consulting practice.
• Daniel Martin Katz, cofounder and chief strategy officer of LexPredict, as well as professor of law at Chicago Kent College of Law and director of Chicago Kent's Law Lab, a research center focused on legal innovation and technology. Katz has been named to the Fastcase 50, which "recognizes 50 of the smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries, and leaders in the law." He was also named to the ABA Journal's "Legal Rebels," a prestigious group of change leaders in the legal profession.

Patel and Katz describe what each of their companies brings to the table, how the two companies align, and why they believe the sum of the two makes both companies even greater.

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