Miller
(Courtesy
photo)
If
you
practiced
law
10
years
ago,
the
idea
of
having
a
“knowledge-based
chatbot”
to
answer
client
questions
at
midnight
wasn’t
just
a
fantasy
—
it
was
a
$50,000
development
project
that
no
solo
practitioner
could
afford.
Today,
it
is
becoming
a
reality
thanks
to
Marla
Miller,
a
former
small
law
firm
owner
and
founder
of
9To5
Legal
Docs.
Miller,
a
former
international
tax
attorney
who
cut
her
teeth
in
big
corporate
multinationals,
never
intended
to
become
a
tech
founder.
After
a
move
back
to
her
hometown
of
Lake
Charles,
Louisiana,
she
opened
a
solo
practice,
dealing
with
the
same
“bottleneck”
that
plagues
almost
every
small
firm
lawyer:
the
realization
that
there
are
only
so
many
hours
in
the
day
to
sell.
“I
liked
what
I
did,
but
I
didn’t
like
how
I
had
to
do
it,”
Miller
explains.
“You
can’t
really
do
complex
tax
work
for
small-to-medium-sized
businesses
using
the
big
corporate
model.
I
found
myself
repeating
myself
a
lot,
dealing
with
the
consultation
grind,
and
realizing
that
on
your
own,
you
are
the
bottleneck.”
For
Miller,
the
catalyst
for
change
came
during
a
trip
to
South
by
Southwest
(SXSW).
Miller
watched
a
trademark
attorney
who
was
automating
processes
and
selling
forms
online,
and
the
light
bulb
went
on.
“I
thought,
there’s
got
to
be
a
better
way
to
do
this.
People
needed
information,
and
they
didn’t
need
to
pay
$500-plus
an
hour
to
get
it.”
The
Pivot:
From
Practice
to
Platform
Miller’s
solution
is
a
new
platform,
9To5Docs.com
—
currently
in
soft
launch
—
designed
to
bridge
the
gap
between
early-stage
startups
and
the
attorneys
who
serve
them.
The
premise
is
built
on
a
simple
observation:
early-stage
startups,
despite
their
unique
value
propositions,
usually
follow
a
predictable
legal
path.
They
need
LLCs
or
Delaware
C-Corps;
they
need
SAFE
notes
for
funding;
they
need
standard
employment
agreements.
Because
the
structure
is
repetitive,
it
is
ripe
for
automation.
But
unlike
the
new
wave
of
“AI
Native
Law
Firms”
making
headlines,
Miller
isn’t
trying
to
replace
the
attorney.
She’s
trying
to
clone
the
attorney’s
efficiency.
The
9to5
platform
offers
a
“data
room”
backend
that
handles
corporate
records,
e-signatures,
and
storage
—
essentially
combining
the
utility
of
Dropbox
and
DocuSign
into
a
single
legal
workflow.
But
the
real
game-changer
will
drop
in
2026
with
“Hey
Jane,”
an
AI
agent
trained
on
business
tax
and
startup
law.
“Think
of
it
as
the
answer
to
those
burning
entrepreneur
questions
on
a
Thursday
at
midnight,”
Miller
says.
The
goal
is
to
allow
other
solo
attorneys
to
white-label
these
tools.
Instead
of
a
lawyer
spending
20
minutes
answering
a
basic
question
about
an
EIN
number,
their
white-labeled
AI
agent
handles
the
education.
When
the
client
needs
high-level
strategy,
the
human
lawyer
steps
in.
It’s
a
hybrid
model
that
promises
to
make
solos
“AI-enabled”
rather
than
obsolete.
The
“Cliff”
of
Entrepreneurship
Transitioning
from
a
specialized
tax
practice
to
a
tech
startup
required
more
than
just
coding;
it
required
a
fundamental
rewiring
of
the
lawyer
brain.
“As
an
attorney,
it’s
almost
safe,”
Miller
admits.
“You
know
the
rules.
You
navigate
them.
There
are
parameters.
But
building
a
startup?
It
feels
like
you’re
on
the
edge
of
a
cliff,
you
don’t
know
what’s
over
there,
and
you
just
have
to
jump.”
The
shift
also
meant
abandoning
the
security
blanket
of
the
billable
hour.
In
a
law
firm,
sitting
at
a
computer
and
billing
means
you
are
working.
In
a
startup,
productivity
might
look
like
taking
a
walk
to
problem-solve
or
staring
at
a
whiteboard
to
set
strategic
direction
—
activities
that
generate
zero
immediate
revenue
but
are
vital
for
long-term
survival.
Why
Women
Are
Leading
the
AI
Charge
Miller
is
part
of
a
growing
cohort
of
women
founders
in
the
legal
AI
space
—
a
demographic
shift
from
the
cloud-computing
boom
of
the
previous
decade,
which
was
largely
male-dominated.
When
asked
why
women
are
gravitating
toward
AI
legal
tech,
Miller
has
a
theory:
“Women
are
very
efficient
humans.
We
have
to
be.
We
are
organized,
and
AI
is
the
ultimate
tool
for
efficiency
if
used
right.”
As
Miller
prepares
to
roll
out
consultation
automation
and
attorney-facing
tools
in
Q1
of
2026,
she
remains
a
test
subject
for
her
own
software,
running
her
practice
through
the
platform
to
iron
out
the
kinks.
It’s
a
risky,
non-typical
path,
but
for
a
lawyer
who
grew
tired
of
the
“consultation
grind,”
the
view
from
the
edge
of
the
cliff
looks
promising.
Marla
Miller’s
platform
is
currently
in
soft
launch.
She
will
be
attending
the
Women
in
AI
event
at
Vanderbilt
Law
School
in
February.
Carolyn
Elefant
is
one
of
the
country’s
most
recognized
advocates
for
solo
and
small
firm
lawyers.
She
founded
MyShingle.com
in
2002,
the
longest-running
blog
for
solo
practitioners,
where
she
has
published
thousands
of
articles,
resources,
and
guides
on
starting,
running,
and
growing
independent
law
practices.
She
is
the
author
of
Solo
by
Choice,
widely
regarded
as
the
definitive
handbook
for
launching
and
sustaining
a
law
practice,
and
has
spoken
at
countless
bar
events
and
legal
conferences
on
technology,
innovation,
and
regulatory
reform
that
impacts
solos
and
smalls.
Elefant
also
develops
practical
tools
like
the AI
Teach-In to
help
small
firms
adopt
AI
and
she
consistently
champions
reforms
to
level
the
playing
field
for
independent
lawyers.
Alongside
this
work,
she
runs
the
Law
Offices
of
Carolyn
Elefant,
a
national
energy
and
regulatory
practice
that
handles
selective
complex,
high-stakes
matters.