We're joined by Peter Duffy for our quarterly ritual of dissecting the big headlines of Peter's popular Legal Tech Trends newsletter and ruminating on their potential implications for legal service delivery.  Peter returns wide eyed and optimistic fresh off some time in the US, where he enjoyed attending TLTF in Austin.

What gets covered:

• The eternal "legal-specific vs. frontier model" debate — With Gemini 3 dropping and capabilities proliferating into vertical spaces, Peter weighs in on whether specialised legal AI still has an edge.
• PE is coming for BigLaw — McDermott exploring MSO structures to let private equity in; 20% of UK firms eyeing PE money; we explore the uncomfortable questions: (i) does outside capital corrupt lawyer independence? (ii) does PE change the fabric of the firm and its operation? 
• The vibes have shifted — Wild stat emanating from the PWC Law Firm Survey - Top-100 law firms expecting AI to boost revenue dropped from 69% (2023) to 31% (2025). Meanwhile, in-house teams are having their main character moment with a 24-point jump in AI optimism. Is this gap telling?
• Product chaos continues — Norm AI spinning up an actual law firm (!), Crosby raising $20M for Slack-native contract review, Legora's client portal coming Q1 2026, and Linklaters designating 20 "AI lawyers" to build workflows.

Listen if: You’re worried your LinkedIn feed isn’t giving you enough legal technology news 😂  OR maybe you’re curious to experiment to see what else is going on out there (beyond this platform)?

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For more conversations at the intersection of law and technology, head to⁠ https://lawwhatsnext.substack.com/⁠ for: (i) discussions with leading practitioners, technologists, and educators; (ii) Deep dives into the intersection of law, technology, and organisational behaviour; and (iii) Practical analysis and visualisation of how AI is augmenting our potential.