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LawNext is a weekly podcast hosted by Bob Ambrogi, who is internationally known for his writing and speaking on legal technology and innovation. Each week, Bob interviews the innovators and entrepreneurs who are driving what’s next in the legal industry. From legal technology startups to new law firm business models to enhancing access to justice, Bob and his guests explore the future of law and legal practice.

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  2. Fastcase Founder Ed Walters On the Implications of Clio’s Acquisition of vLex

Fastcase Founder Ed Walters On the Implications of Clio’s Acquisition of vLex

Jan 7, 2026

The biggest deal of 2025 – in fact, the biggest deal ever in legal tech – was legal tech company Clio’s acquisition of vLex for $1 billion. A global legal research company founded in Spain, vLex had, just two years earlier, merged with the U.S. legal research company Fastcase, and the union of those two companies – which also included the Docket Alarm trove of court docket data – had further accelerated the development of Vincent, vLex’s generative AI technology. 

Now, with Clio’s acquisition of vLex, comes a combustible combination that has the potential to unify the fuel of all that vLex legal research and docket data with Clio’s cloud practice management technology to create an unprecedented, AI-driven platform that unifies both the business and practice of law.

Against this backdrop, I sat down with Ed Walters, the founder and CEO of Fastcase, during ClioCon in October, to discuss the acquisition and its implications for the legal industry. Walters cofounded Fastcase in 1999 along with his former Covington & Burling colleague Phil Rosenthal. After Fastcase merged with vLex, he became vLex’s chief strategy officer. Since the Clio acquisition, he is now Clio’s vice president of legal innovation and strategy. 

Note: As of this recording, Clio had not yet closed its acquisition of vLex. The deal did finally close on Nov. 10. 

 

Thank You To Our Sponsors

This episode of LawNext is generously made possible by our sponsors. We appreciate their support and hope you will check them out.

  • Paradigm, home to the practice management platforms PracticePanther, Bill4Time, MerusCase and LollyLaw; the e-payments platform Headnote; and the legal accounting software TrustBooks.

  • Briefpoint, eliminating routine discovery response and request drafting tasks so you can focus on drafting what matters (or just make it home for dinner).

  • Eve, taking care of the tasks that slow you down so you can operate at your highest potential

 

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