#44 How Fastcase Built a Legal Research Revolution on Relationships, Not Venture Capital

In this episode of Lawyers Who Learn, David Schnurman, CEO of Lawline, talks with Ed Walters, co-founder of Fastcase and current Chief Strategy Officer at vLex, following a 2023 merger. The discussion traces Walters' remarkable journey from starting Fastcase with Phil Rosenthal in 2000 to building a legal research platform that disrupted established providers like Westlaw and LexisNexis.

Walters shares how Fastcase's mission to "democratize the law" led them to pioneer a bar association subscription model that gave 1.3 million attorneys access to affordable legal research. He details their bootstrap approach - attending more than 1,000 bar association meetings over 15 years - and the importance of building deep, genuine relationships within the legal community rather than simply raising venture capital.

The conversation explores how Fastcase expanded beyond basic legal research to include bankruptcy forms, docket tracking, analytics, and now AI tools through their Vincent platform. Throughout the episode, Walters emphasizes the crucial role his team played in Fastcase's success, particularly highlighting co-founder Phil Rosenthal (a former rocket scientist who worked with Stephen Hawking) and team members who helped build and maintain their bar association relationships.

Walters also discusses the decision to merge with vLex rather than sell, creating a global legal research platform now covering 110 countries with 350 employees across 17 time zones. He reflects on the importance of timing, luck, and perseverance in entrepreneurship, sharing insights about learning through teaching (he teaches AI and law courses at Georgetown and Chicago Law), and his personal productivity system inspired by Getting Things Done.

The episode provides a thoughtful exploration of how innovation, relationship-building, and team dynamics can transform an industry, even with limited resources and against established competitors.