Law Bytes Episode 262: Zack Shapiro on the Claude AI Native Law Firm
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Mar 23, 2026 Zack Shapiro, a New York lawyer who founded Raines LLP after clerking in federal courts and practicing at Davis Polk, discusses building a Claude AI–native practice. He explains why he chose Claude, how it mediates drafting, research and negotiation, and how he builds repeatable prompts and skills. He warns of a widening productivity gap as AI reshapes legal workflows and firm structure.
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Skip Wrappers Talk Directly To LLMs
- Zack argues legal-specific LLM wrappers are often unnecessary because modern LLMs are powerful enough that intermediaries can be counterproductive.
- He says lawyers should speak directly to LLMs in detailed English rather than rely on opinionated menus from legal tech vendors.
Day To Day Work Shifted Into Claude
- Zack shifted from spending 4–6 hours daily in Microsoft Word to doing most work through the Claude desktop app for drafting, edits, negotiations, and research.
- He built a scaffold of custom skills and plugins so AI mediates intake, analysis, drafting, and contract negotiation.
Claude Code Unlocks App Control And Memory
- Anthropic's Opus models plus Claude Code let the AI write code to manipulate apps like Microsoft Word and access local files, unlocking programmatic editing and large-context memory.
- That combination enables the AI to edit .doc files, ingest folders, and treat markdown files as external memory and SOPs.