Join SpotDraft’s CEO Shashank Bijapur and COO Akshay Verma live from the SpotDraft Summit 2025 as they talk about AI, pivoting from being lawyers to tech executives, the future of legal work, founding and funding a start-up, and much more.

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Key Insights

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1. Innovation Starts with Frustration

Shashank’s “aha” moment came on New Year’s Eve at White & Case: “Cars are driving themselves, and I’m still copy-pasting words on paper.” Realizing that the greatest legal innovation since fax machines was “track changes,” he left big law to build SpotDraft—a platform to make contracting easier and faster.

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2. Empathy and Execution Build Great Companies

Akshay emphasizes that empathy—both for buyers and sellers—is what drives successful tech implementations. “Things never go right,” he says. “You’ll get blamed when you’re the new kid on the block. The trick is to navigate that with empathy and tactical truth-telling.” His mantra: trust and accountability build credibility.

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3. Fundraising Is About the Right Kind of Capital

SpotDraft recently raised a $54M Series B, led by Vertex and Trident Partners. For Shashank, the focus wasn’t just money—it was alignment: “We wanted investors who understand where AI and contracting are headed.” Akshay adds: “Ideas are everywhere. Execution is what gets you here.” With new funding, the focus is clear—build trust, scale thoughtfully, and execute relentlessly.

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4. Legal Ops Is the Future COO Pipeline

Both agree that legal operations is now “where the puck is headed.” Shashank says: “Legal Ops connects Legal to the business. It’s the connective tissue.” Akshay’s transition from Facebook’s legal ops leader to COO at SpotDraft shows what’s possible: “It’s a natural evolution. The function teaches you to lead through process, empathy, and systems-thinking”.

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5. Risk, Trust, and Diversity of Thought Drive Leadership

Startups succeed by balancing calculated risk with psychological safety. Akshay says, “Hire people who don’t think like you.” Shashank agrees: “Hire people smarter than you. That’s when you know you’re in safe hands.” Their leadership style blends speed with reflection—a dynamic tension that drives SpotDraft’s growth.

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6. AI Will Be a Lawyer’s Superpower, Not a Threat

“AI won’t replace lawyers,” Shashank insists, “but a lawyer using AI will replace one who isn’t.” Both predict that legal teams will treat AI like they do Microsoft Word today—essential, not optional. Akshay adds: “AI won’t replace jobs; it will replace tasks. Lawyers should focus on work that actually needs judgment.”

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7. Responsible AI Starts with Transparency

When asked how tech providers should handle AI’s rapid evolution, Akshay’s answer was clear: “Transparency. Customers deserve to know how we train our models, where data sits, and how privacy is protected.” Shashank adds: “Education, ethics, and readiness—our responsibility is to make the next generation AI-literate and future-ready.”

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8. Closing Insight

“Legal Ops isn’t a support role—it’s a strategy function. And in the AI era, it’s the engine driving legal’s evolution.”

Akshay’s journey is proof: the future of legal leadership starts in ops.

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