8CIOReview | | NOVEMBER 2020By Evan Shenkman, Senior Director of Knowledge Management, Fisher & Phillips LLPLEGAL TECH STARTUPS: THE REWARDS OF BEING CUSTOMER NUMBER ONELegal technology startups have been at the forefront of some extraordinary innovations as of late­especially those in the AI and data analytics space. For those of us in law firm leadership roles, each new day seems to bring at least one LinkedIn invite or cold call from a legal tech startup offering a demo. Truth be told, and despite the time commitment, I tend to engage far more than I decline. Why? Because with the right startups, the rewards of being Customer-Number-One are plentiful. I've been privileged to have enjoyed the benefits of Customer-Number-One status with a roster of now-well-known legal tech companies, including Casetext, LegalMation, Manzama, and most recently, Blue J Legal. The rewards of forging those relationships early on far surpassed the risk and price of admission, providing exclusive benefits to my firms, to their clients, and to me personally. Here's why:(1) EXCLUSIVITYExclusivity agreements­preventing the start-up from working with Customer-Number-One's direct competitors for a set period­are an increasingly common benefit of Customer-IN MY OPINION
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