Last month’s Legal Hackers Meetup was part demo night, part panel, and part lively discussion about technology and the future of legal practice. Entitled “Startups Disrupting the Legal Industry,” it was hosted by General Assembly, and featured demos from Shake, Lawdingo, CaseRails, and Priori Legal. The demos were followed by a panel that included the startups’ founders, plus Jennifer Berrent, a partner at WilmherHale who works with emerging companies. Prof. Jonathan Askin, founder of the Brooklyn Law Incubator and Policy Clinic, moderated.

A few consistent themes emerged throughout the evening: technology can make life better for both lawyers and their clients, but it’s being underutilized. There is an opportunity for consumer technology companies to capture the currently neglected “long tail” of the legal market. And startups working in legal technology face unique challenges because of the risk-averse nature of the profession and because of regulatory obstacles.

Thank you to all of the participants and attendees!