Ed Scanlan

Founder & CEO at Bridge Legal

Speaker

Ed is the Founder & CEO of Bridge Legal, an AI-powered platform purpose-built to bring structure, transparency, and scale to complex, asset-backed legal investments. With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of law, data, and technology, Ed is a recognized innovator in legal tech. He’s credited with pioneering online legal lead generation in the early 2000s, creating the first digital tools that connected millions of consumers to legal help and opened new growth channels for law firms nationwide. Throughout his career, Ed has built high-growth companies that modernize traditional systems and make legal services more efficient, accessible, and profitable. His work has earned him recognition from Crain’s Chicago Business 40 Under 40, the Chicagoland Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, the Fastcase 50, and other national awards.

Known for his forward-thinking vision and ability to rally top-tier talent around bold ideas, Ed continues to shape the future of legal infrastructure through his work at Bridge Legal. Bridge Legal’s origins are rooted in plaintiff-side workflow automation, where Ed first applied AI to streamline intake, discovery, and case maturation. Under his leadership, the company has evolved into a broader infrastructure provider—developing AI-powered systems that support both funders and firms in maximizing operational efficiency, reducing risk, and driving scalable growth.