Pioneering AI in Legal Tech with Jacqueline Schafer

Only 2% of all founders of AI companies are women, and Jacqueline Schafer is one of those women leading the way in tech. Jacqueline is here this week to share her inspiring journey from her early days as a lawyer at a top firm to founding her own innovative company set on changing the legal landscape. She discusses the importance of partnering with strong women investors and building a company with a focus on security and ethical considerations, the challenges she has faced as a female founder, and more. This week’s episode 145 of How Women Inspire Podcast is about pioneering AI in legal tech! 

This episode was created in partnership with the Nasdaq Foundation. Together, we are working to educate, inspire, and engage women from diverse backgrounds on venture investing and entrepreneurship. Did you know that only 2% of venture funding goes to women-led companies? Together, we are working to show that women are the new face of venture investing.

In this episode of How Women Inspire Podcast, Jacqueline Schafer is sharing the importance of preparation and persistence when finding supporters and investors and actionable steps you can take right now to support women-founded ventures. 

Jacqueline Schafer is the founder and CEO of Clearbrief (Winner, Litigation Technology Product of the Year, Legalweek 2023). Schafer serves as one of inaugural members of the Texas Bar’s AI Taskforce, and she was chosen by the American Bar Association as one of the “2022 Women of Legal Tech” and named to the 2022 Fastcase 50, Honoring ‘Innovators, Techies, Visionaries and Leaders’ in Law, Schafer also received the 2021 Washington State Bar APEX Award for Legal Innovation for founding Clearbrief as well as for her 2020 law review article ("Harnessing AI for Struggling Families").

Some of the talking points Julie and Jaqueline go over in this episode include:

• How every role in her career helped pave the way for Clearbrief.
• The challenges of raising capital for a legal tech company, especially during the pandemic.
• The role of women investors for success and the support networks they create.
• The need for strict security requirements to succeed with large enterprise firms and government agencies.

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Chapters

• 0:00 Pioneering AI in Legal Tech with Jacqueline Schafer
• 4:54 Jacqueline Schafer discusses her background, starting as an English and French major and then attending law school with the goal of becoming an appellate lawyer.
• 8:18 Jacqueline explains how she became interested in AI, including her experience advising a nonprofit on using data science in child welfare agencies.
• 13:22 The importance of security and ethical considerations in developing Clear Brief, including the decision to invest in SOC 2 Type 2 certification.
• 17:00 The challenges she faced in raising capital as a female founder in the legal tech industry, including rejection and condescension from investors.
• 20:37 Jacqueline discusses her future aspirations, including continuing to work on issues in the court system and maintaining her creative pursuits as a musician.
• 22:17 Jacqueline encourages listeners to connect with her on LinkedIn to learn more about Clear Brief and potential collaboration opportunities.