Why the Hourly Billing Model Is Broken

Stephen Candelmo is a corporate lawyer turned tech founder who has spent nearly thirty years advising emerging companies and building his own ventures. In this episode, he explains how a recession, a machine learning experiment, and a desire for fairness inspired him to create Paralex, a legal platform that delivers fixed-fee, AI-powered legal services for small businesses and startups. He also shares why he believes the legal profession is on the edge of a major transformation.

Lawyer Side Hustles

Stephen’s entrepreneurial path began long before Paralex. While still practicing corporate law, he launched a machine learning startup focused on sentiment analytics. The company served well-known customers and gave him a deeper understanding of product design, customer behavior, and the commercial side of technology. Years later, when large language models became available, he immediately began prototyping legal use cases instead of simply experimenting for fun.

“Once you start innovating, you are always on the lookout for the next thing. It becomes a shift in mindset,” Stephen Candelmo expresses in Episode 222 of You Are a Lawyer.

Paralex is the culmination of decades of corporate experience, business curiosity, and belief in legal accessibility. His side ventures were never hobbies. They were stepping stones that helped him create a platform where AI handles routine legal tasks while lawyers provide oversight, judgment, and accountability. For Stephen, entrepreneurship is not separate from being a lawyer. It is an extension of what lawyers can do when they combine their training with creativity.

This episode is produced by Skip the Boring Stuff, a podcast strategy company for business owners and creatives.