My Journey from Competition Lawyer to Legal Tech Specialist

My name is Laura Gallo, and I work as a digital transformation specialist at BRYTER, a tech company that provides lawyers and other legal experts with the tools to create customized digital solutions. But before this, I had begun a more traditional legal career, working as a competition lawyer. 

As the legal industry continues to evolve, so do the opportunities for those with legal backgrounds. Many of my colleagues in the legal tech sector started out as lawyers themselves, and then were drawn into the technology side of the work by a desire to drive industry-wide change and help the law community embrace new ways of working. That’s exactly what happened to me. Below, I’ll share my story of how I went from competition lawyer to legal tech specialist. 

Beginning my journey in law 

I decided to study law because it interested me, it is challenging and is a career that combines intellectual strength with a practical approach to the world, and where you can develop a range of valuable, transferrable skills. I also come from a family of lawyers, so that had a small influence. 

When I graduated from the University of Granada with a degree in Law in 2016, there were very few career opportunities at the intersection between law and technology. Legal tech as we know it now has only emerged in recent years, driven by start-ups breaking into this sector. 

So after graduating, I followed the typical path most law students follow: I started working in a law firm. I soon realized I wanted to specialize in Competition Law, and thanks to an Excellence Grant from the Ramón Areces Foundation, I attended King’s College in London to do an LLM. After graduating, I joined the CMA, and went on to spend a few years working in legal departments of the UK Government.  

Discovering the possibilities of legal technology 

My first introduction to legal tech was at an event in London. I met and chatted with other lawyers who had pursued new careers in start-ups applying technology to legal services.  

I identified with the long hours lawyers (especially the younger ones) spend on repetitive tasks that are of low value, but at the same time are necessary to ensure projects run smoothly. I was also aware of the many inefficient processes that abound in the legal world, which is interestingly one of the sectors taking the longest to evolve digitally. I was fascinated to discover how legal automation could improve lawyers’ processes, client relationships, and the lawyers’ quality of life as time is freed up to work on higher value-add strategic tasks. 

I decided I wanted to be a part of this movement to make legal work more fulfilling and rewarding. 

Making my move into legal tech as part of the BRYTER team 

When an opportunity came up to join a young legal tech start-up called BRYTER, I jumped at the chance. Today, 2 years later, after a $60M funding round and exponential growth, I couldn’t be happier to have made that decision. I’ve participated in a variety of projects, and have experienced fast growth both personally and professionally — at a pace only a hyper-growth start-up can provide. I am now proud to be heading BRYTER’s expansion in Iberia and Latin America. 

Spreading the word about legal tech 

Now I find myself getting to share the things that inspired me years ago — the promise of legal tech, the opportunity it creates to do faster, more efficient work and to make the lives of lawyers more balanced and fulfilling. 

Thanks to this job, I have discovered first-hand that lawyers can use technology to transform legal processes into tools that really improve performance, make their services more accessible to clients, differentiate themselves from the competition, and open new lines of business and revenue streams.  

I hope my story has been interesting, inspiring, or even sparked new ideas. I am happy to connect with anyone who wants to exchange experiences or has any questions about digital transformation. You can reach out to me on LinkedIn or if you’re ready to see legal tech in action, book a demo with us!