Hey there Legal Rebels! 👋 I’m excited to share with you the 40th episode of the 2025 season of the LawDroid Manifesto podcast, where I will be continuing to interview key legal innovators to learn how they do what they do. I think you’re going to enjoy this one!
I recall when Bradley first broke onto the legaltech scene when organizing the first LegalTechTalk conference, he ruffled some feathers by doing things differently. I admire his fearlessness and courage in taking on the logistical and social challenges of breaking into a new space and then pulling off an event that has been a bang up success, no less! For that reason, I’ve dubbed him, “The Maverick Connector.”
If you want to understand how to build something from nothing in the legal industry and learn what it takes to shake up an established market with fresh energy and vision, you need to listen to this episode. Bradley is at the forefront of creating spaces where legal innovation happens and has a unique perspective on driving positive change in law.
Building the World’s Fastest-Growing Legal Innovation Event
Join me as I interview Bradley Collins, CEO and co-founder of LegalTechTalk, whose fresh perspective and relentless drive transformed a bold vision into one of the world’s premier legal innovation events.
In this podcast episode, Bradley shares his journey from selling advertising in magazines to building LegalTechTalk from scratch, growing it to 3,100 attendees in just two years. He shares the challenges of entering an industry known for being risk-averse and how he convinced global managing partners, chief legal officers, and tech founders to take a chance on a completely new event. Bradley also reveals the mindset shifts that enabled him to think differently about what’s possible, from his early days on a council estate to winning salesperson of the year awards to traveling the world.
His stories and insights underscore the power of storytelling, resilience, and maintaining a positive vision even when facing skepticism. This episode is a must-watch for anyone interested in entrepreneurship, building community, and understanding how innovation spreads through an industry that traditionally resists being first to try something new.
The Skinny
Bradley Collins, CEO and co-founder of LegalTechTalk, shares his remarkable journey from working on a building site to creating one of the world’s fastest-growing legal innovation events. With a background in advertising and media across retail, fintech, and insurance sectors, Bradley brought an outsider’s perspective to legal that proved transformative. In just two years, LegalTechTalk grew from zero to attracting 3,100 attendees, including global managing partners from firms like Linklaters and Clifford Chance, chief legal officers from companies like HSBC and Revolut, and founders of major legal tech platforms like Harvey and Legora. Bradley’s approach emphasizes storytelling, resilience, and a fundamental belief that innovation drives positive change. His mission extends beyond creating a successful business to being a catalyst for transformation in legal, improving access to justice, work-life balance for legal professionals, and the overall impact law has on society.
Key Takeaways:
Bradley’s unconventional path into legal tech, from council estate upbringing through tennis coaching to award-winning sales roles, gave him the resilience and fresh perspective needed to shake up an established industry
His experience building events in retail, fintech, and insurance taught him that nothing is impossible if you ask “how do we make it happen” rather than “can it be done”
LegalTechTalk grew from 2,500 attendees in year one to 3,100 in year two, with ambitious plans to become the biggest legal event in the world
The power of storytelling was critical to convincing a risk-averse industry to take a chance on a completely new event and team
The legal industry follows a pattern where no firm wants to be first but once big names commit, nobody wants to be last
LegalTechTalk’s mission focuses on driving positive change through innovation, including improved access to justice and better work-life balance for legal professionals
The event’s success came from painting a vision about positive impact rather than just promoting size and numbers
Bradley’s mindset of “anything is possible” came from working with entrepreneurial teams that immediately focused on solutions rather than obstacles
Notable Quotes:
“I come from like traditional event and media companies where it’s like, if you grow by 200 people, that’s really good and great job. And okay, 5% growth. That’s, that’s great. Not to say anything bad about previous companies, but you know, it’s like, these are much more established. And, and I think it came from the chairman of that company, a guy called Mads would like, why can’t you get 4,000 people? And then it wouldn’t be, they’ve never done an event before. They don’t know what’s possible and what’s not possible.” - Bradley Collins (00:29:53-00:30:21)
“The mindset was like, okay, how do we make it happen? Not, can it be done? It’s just immediately, how do we do it? And for me, that was the biggest mindset shift. Like anything can be done if you just think.” - Bradley Collins (00:30:10-00:30:21)
“What I learned was that no legal industry or law firm wants to be the first to do something. But once you’ve got some big names on board, no one wants to be the last to do something. It’s the same we’re seeing with law firms adopting technology now. It took ages to get going. And now everybody’s signing up with Harvey or Logo or one of these big AI platforms now because everyone else is. You can’t not do it.” - Bradley Collins (00:32:36-00:32:57)
“I think in general, generally speaking, innovation is good. And I think that, you know, access to justice is a big topic. I think typically speaking, people haven’t had the best mental health or wellbeing. They’ve worked in law firms when they work in 24 hour days, seven days a week. That’s not healthy. I’m sure you get paid good money, but is that the best way to live?” - Bradley Collins (00:39:04-00:39:26)
“For us, it was painting a story about the big picture, about what we want to achieve. It’s so easy to come in. This is going to be the biggest event. You’re going to need to be there. We communicated early on what we’re trying to do and the positive change we can have on the industry. Some people bought into that and eventually more and more people were buying into that.” - Bradley Collins (00:43:04-00:43:29)
“The amount of people that have wrote to me since the event yesterday, or today even, my colleague Joe was on a call with Tyson from Dollar Legal. He seems to be an industry legend. Everyone seems to know who he is. And he said, like, the amount of clients I’ve got already out of this event, the amount of partnerships we’ve got. And we had volunteers that have got jobs from people they met at the event.” - Bradley Collins (00:47:12-00:47:33)
“When you have a positive impact on other people’s lives, like these founders, some of them in like a six-month-old startup, now have met an investor who’s just backed them and is changing their life that that’s really cool but that beats the sort of personal side of it. It’s like we’re doing something good here. We’re having a good impact and if you can do that and run a good business I think it’s very satisfying.” - Bradley Collins (00:47:41-00:48:11)
Clips
Building The Biggest Insurance Ecosystem
How Tennis Changed My Life
Mindset Shift: Nothing Is Impossible
Turning Hardship Into Motivation
Bradley’s journey embodies what’s possible when you bring an outsider’s perspective to an established industry. His Mr. Miyagi-like tennis coach who believed in him, his year of world travel, and his experience building events across multiple industries all converged to give him the exact toolkit needed to build LegalTechTalk. What makes his story particularly compelling is his authenticity and willingness to learn on the fly, combined with a sales background that taught him the power of listening and the mindset of giving without expecting immediate return.
The growth of LegalTechTalk from zero to over 3,000 attendees in two years demonstrates what happens when vision meets execution. Bradley didn’t just create an event; he created a movement centered on the idea that innovation in legal drives positive change for everyone. His ability to attract global managing partners, chief legal officers, and tech founders to a brand-new event speaks to the power of his storytelling and the genuine belief in his mission. The event has become a catalyst for new partnerships, funding opportunities, and career changes for attendees, creating ripple effects far beyond the two days people spend in the room.
Closing Thoughts
As someone who has watched the legal innovation space evolve over the past decade, Bradley’s approach to building LegalTechTalk offers important lessons for all of us. He came into legal without preconceptions about what was or wasn’t possible, and that beginner’s mind became his superpower. Where others might have been deterred by the industry’s reputation for being risk-averse and slow to adopt new things, Bradley simply asked “how do we make this happen?” and got to work.
What impresses me most is how Bradley has maintained focus on the human element throughout this journey. Yes, there’s talk about AI and technology at LegalTechTalk, but the event’s opening with a poet and the emphasis on positive impact reveals what truly drives him. He understands that innovation isn’t just about the technology itself but about improving people’s lives, whether that’s lawyers finding better work-life balance or clients gaining better access to justice.
For our Legal Rebels community, Bradley’s story demonstrates that the legal industry needs more people willing to challenge the status quo and bring fresh perspectives from outside traditional legal circles. His success shows that when you combine resilience, storytelling, genuine mission, and a willingness to do the hard work, you can create something meaningful even in spaces that seem resistant to change.
The fact that LegalTechTalk went from skepticism to becoming a must-attend event in just two years should inspire all of us. Whether you’re building a legal tech startup, implementing new processes at your firm, or trying to drive any kind of change in legal, Bradley’s journey offers a roadmap: paint a compelling vision, stay resilient when facing doubt, focus on the positive impact you’re creating, and remember that once you get the first believers on board, momentum builds quickly.
