Why AI Won't Replace Lawyers | Nandan Subramaniam

Got something to say to this podcast? Send a voicemail, and you might hear yourself on the next episode! Why do some lawyers get fired and then build a better business than the firm that let them go? I spoke with Nandan Subramaniam, principal at Zed Law, who runs a fully remote firm from a farm in the Northern Rivers while advising Parachute on where AI actually helps lawyers, and where it doesn't. Zed has automated around 80% of its internal processes with AI, but Nandan draws a hard line on two things: never using AI for legal research, and never using it for strategy. Get either wrong and you end up with hallucinated case law in front of a client, or a compliance-mindset AI missing the creative, grey area thinking that wins cases. We cover: Why he won't let AI touch legal research or strategy The "hustle lawyer" system Zed built for lawyers considering starting their own firm Why AI is producing more legal work The confidentiality question Why he thinks the future is more boutique and solo firms His ` piece of advice for any lawyer thinking about going out on their own What struck me most was how deliberate the line is between automation and judgement. Zed isn't trying to automate the lawyer out of the job, it's trying to free up the human parts that actually matter to clients. Connect with Nandan and Zed Law Zed Law: https://zed.law/ Nandan Subramaniam on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nandan-subramaniam-0b394ba4/ Follow Dave Newsletter: https://subscribe.daveberner.me LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/daveberner/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@dave.berner Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/daveberner_/ X: https://x.com/daveberner_ Website: https://daveberner.me Parachute Website: https://goparachute.ai/