Pera Talks AI, MSOs and The Legal Tech Fund Summit

Adams & Reese Memphis Partner and leading ethics attorney Lucian Pera joined The Legal Tech Fund’s Advisory Board ahead of its November Summit. In a recent podcast conversation with TLTF host Carly Levin, Pera discussed trends shaping legal innovation, including alternative business structures, AI adoption, and pricing ethics.

Helping Innovators Navigate Regulation

Pera focuses his practice on helping legal innovators comply with lawyer regulatory rules and guiding clients through the compliance challenges that accompany new business models in law.

MSOs and Alternative Business Structures

Pera named Management Services Organizations (MSOs) and Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) as the top trend in his practice. He helps law firms, technology companies, CPA firms and other law-adjacent business decide whether they need to own a law firm or simply work closely with one. “It’s not just me,” he said. “That’s in the marketplace.”

AI Adoption and Pricing Ethics

AI is another major area of focus. While the industry at large is focused on AI capabilities, Pera’s work zeroes in on helping firms and AI companies figure out how to properly and ethically pass AI tool costs on to clients. He addressed unauthorized practice of law (UPL) questions that arise when technology companies embed legal services into their products. Pera observed that the legal profession is adopting AI with far more speed and enthusiasm than it adopted earlier technologies. He attributed the urgency to competitive pressure from both clients and lawyers themselves who want to use AI well.

The Road Ahead: Reshaping Law Firms and Access to Justice

Looking ahead, Pera expects the fundamental nature and structure of law firms to change as capital and lawyer mobility reshape who holds power in the industry. He predicts firms will “disaggregate” into a mix of traditional practices, loose lawyer affiliations, and tech companies with legal arms, all of which may look alike to clients but might feel very different to work in. The change he hopes for most, though, is progress on consumer and small-business legal services, a market he calls “enormous and so underserved,” and he is optimistic that models like MSOs could soon bring down the cost of family law services while making them easier to access.

Praise for the TLTF Summit Community

Pera called last year’s TLTF Summit “the best conference I have ever attended,” praising its curated community and informal, idea-driven atmosphere. For Pera, the event focused on pitching ideas rather than business, and encouraged others to attend the November summit, saying attendees will “meet people that you haven’t met that you need to meet.”

Listen to the full episode here: TLTF Summit Advisory Board 2026 | Lucian Pera | Partner at Adams & Reese, LLP