Why Big Law’s Best and Brightest Are Jumping Ship to Startups
The legal industry is facing a brain drain, and legal-tech startups like Eudia are reaping the rewards.
Once the promised land for ambitious attorneys, Big Law is now struggling to retain its rising stars. A growing wave of young lawyers is opting out of the partnership track and into startups—especially legal-tech ventures backed by serious capital and fast-moving AI innovation.
In Business Insider’s recent deep dive, legal-tech founders like Omar Haroun, Co-Founder and CEO of Eudia, made it clear: what was once seen as a risky detour is fast becoming a smart career play. Haroun, now on his third legal-tech venture, says leaving the firm track for tech “was probably thought of as a career-limiting move before,” but “now, it’s starting to become a career-enhancing move.”
To show just how widespread the shift has become, Business Insider spotlights stories like Laura Toulme, who left a prestigious litigation role at Hecker Fink to join Harvey, an OpenAI-backed legal AI startup. Her new job? Translating legal workflows into machine-readable algorithms. “It felt like this is a train I had to jump on now or I’d miss it,” she said.
Jonathan Melke, formerly with Hogan Lovells, told a similar story. After learning about Swedish legal-tech startup Legora, he sent the founder a cold LinkedIn message. Hours later, he was on a call—and soon after, joined the team. “I want to build the future,” he said, “not watch it pass by.”
And that future is arriving fast. With legal-tech funding topping $2 billion last year, companies like Harvey and Eudia say over 20% of their teams hold JDs. These aren’t token legal hires—they’re building the infrastructure that might one day replace the billable hour itself.
Anna Barber, Partner at M13 and an LP in Everywhere Ventures, sees exactly why this shift is happening. A Yale Law grad herself, Barber told Business Insider that legal work is uniquely suited to AI: “It’s very logical, very rule-based. The best answer can be discerned from looking at documents and facts.” That’s why startups like Eudia are positioned to thrive—the structured nature of legal work lends itself well to automation done right.
Of course, leaving Big Law isn’t without trade-offs. No startup can match $225K+ starting salaries or the path to equity partner. But for many, the lure of equity, impact, and ownership outweighs the comfort of prestige—and for a generation raised on disruption, that trade feels worth it.
As Toulme put it: “It would almost be naive not to acknowledge that it was a risky move… But there’s a lot of brand news.” For today’s ambitious lawyers, that’s exactly the appeal.
Read more on Business Insider
Listen to Samantha Coxe chat with Allison Stoloff on the Venture Everywhere Podcast: Flaus First. Now on Apple & Spotify and check out all our past episodes here.
