The Legal Beagle Throwback Part 1 with Trial Lawyers, Jonathan Negretti and Erling Andersen

Verdicts & Vogue – Episode 15

Throwback to The Legal Beagle with Jonathan Negretti & Guest Erling Andersen

Sometimes the most powerful stories are the ones worth telling twice. Episode 15 of Verdicts & Vogue takes us back to the one and only podcast by Jonathan Negretti — The Legal Beagle — where he sat down with Erling Andersen, a Norwegian entrepreneur whose life embodies resilience, reinvention, and disruption in the legal world.

Erling’s story begins in Norway with a bold idea. At just 19 years old, he co-founded Beep.no, a social media platform that quickly gained traction and, at its peak, captured nearly 10% of Norway’s population. In 2008, Erling sold the company for $12 million. At only 25, he was financially free, with options to retire, travel, or simply enjoy the fruits of his early success. But instead of stopping there, his life took an unexpected turn.

Four years after the sale, the Norwegian Tax Authority came after him with a $500,000 claim, arguing that part of his earn-out deal should be taxed as salary rather than capital gains. Erling could have hired expensive lawyers to fight the case — in fact, he did at first, and was billed $15,000 for a single four-page letter. Instead, he made a radical choice: he enrolled in law school, completed his degree in record time (just two and a half years compared to the usual five), and argued his own case. Against the odds, he won.

This victory revealed two truths: first, the power of determination when you refuse to be cornered; and second, the inefficiencies and outdated structures embedded in the legal profession. With his combined background in IT, business, and law, Erling saw a massive opportunity to innovate.

That vision became AdvokatGuiden (The Lawyer Guide), a legal tech platform designed to make the profession more transparent, democratic, and accessible. For clients, it meant finding the right lawyer with ease. For young lawyers, it created an even playing field in a system often dominated by senior partners and legacy firms.

In this throwback conversation, Jonathan and Erling explore:

• The antiquated practices of client recruitment in law, and why many lawyers resist digital transformation.

• How entrepreneurship can breathe new life into traditional professions.

• The importance of transparency, both for clients choosing lawyers and for lawyers navigating their careers.

• Comparisons between law and other industries that once seemed untouchable — from taxi driving to aviation — and how disruption eventually arrived there too.

• The future of law in an era of private investment, automation, and “gig economy” style services.

At its core, Erling’s journey is about refusing to accept the status quo. Whether building a social network in his early twenties, taking on the government in court, or challenging the deeply entrenched systems of law, he represents the mindset of constant reinvention.

Jonathan Negretti guides the discussion with curiosity and perspective, drawing parallels to the American legal landscape — particularly in Arizona, where recent regulatory changes are beginning to mirror the disruption Erling predicts in Europe. The episode challenges us to ask: What does the future of legal services really look like? Who gets left behind if the industry doesn’t adapt?

By revisiting this conversation, Verdicts & Vogue celebrates not just a remarkable entrepreneurial story but also a vision for the future of law itself — one where innovation, transparency, and accessibility are no longer optional but necessary.

This throwback reminds us that sometimes, to understand where we’re going, we need to revisit the voices who first dared to say, “There’s a better way.”