Ex-Legorans, Cem Ucan and Kieran John Keenan, have raised a $2.4 million pre-seed round led by a16z Speedrun for their new model, AI native law firm, Athena. It will be focused on commercial real estate and joins a growing army of ‘newmods’ entering the legal market.
The new firm said that ‘Athena’s proprietary AI agents work alongside experienced transactional attorneys at its affiliated law firm to deliver complex deal documents in hours, at a fraction of the traditional cost, so legal work can finally move at the speed of dealmaking’.
— Legal Innovators New York Conference – Nov 17 + 18 —
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As to real estate, they noted that no matter what people may say, speed does matter.
For commercial real estate investors completing 10-15 acquisitions a year, that speed can make a material difference, they stressed.
Ucan commented: ‘Our AI works hand-in-hand with a law firm designed around it from day one, with experienced attorneys focused on the judgment and negotiation that actually move deals forward.’
And in terms of structure, which seems to be the classic MSO format, they said that: ‘For clients, working with Athena feels like working with a traditional law firm. They send documents to their attorney and receive legal work back. Behind the scenes, proprietary AI agents handle much of the heavy lifting.
‘Athena’s affiliated law firm advises on commercial real estate acquisitions, sales and financing, from purchase agreements and due diligence to loan documents and closings.
‘When a new agreement comes in, Athena’s agents review it against the deal terms, identify inconsistencies, prepare redlines and draft client communications. They also draw on previous transactions to understand each client’s negotiating preferences. Experienced attorneys review the work, make the legal decisions and approve everything before it reaches the client.
‘The results are already showing. On an early transaction, the team turned around a purchase agreement in under 48 hours, the fastest turnaround the client said they had experienced.’
Plus, the platform gets better with every deal.
They added: ‘Attorney corrections and client preferences feed back into the system, reducing the work needed on future transactions. In its first six weeks, Athena cut attorney review time by more than 70%’
Keenan, Co-Founder and CTO of Athena, concluded: ‘I measure our progress by how quickly an attorney can review an AI agent’s work and confidently stand behind it. A draft produced in minutes can still leave a lawyer with hours of work. Making that review more efficient is how our platform helps us deliver faster legal services with the quality clients expect from Big Law.’
Congrats to Cem and Kieran! Always nice to see more newmods. See you in New York….?!
More here.
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Legal Innovators New York Conference – Nov 17 + 18
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Plus here is the interview AL did with Cem earlier in August.
AL Interview with Cem Ucan
Tell us about Athena
We built a law firm designed to pass the efficiency gains of AI directly to clients.
Law firms have adopted AI. Yet clients are still paying by the hour, blowing through fee caps and waiting for important work to reach the top of someone else’s queue.
Has the technology made any noticeable difference to your bill, timetable or experience?
Kieran (see above) and I saw this gap while building technology for lawyers at Legora. Legal tools became dramatically more capable, but the economics and operating model around them remained unchanged.
Put better technology inside the same billable-hour model and staffing pyramid, and clients get innovation theatre: the same delays and uncertain bills, now produced with better software.
Athena is built differently. Partners lead every matter. Our technology accelerates diligence, drafting, negotiation and closing. Before work begins, we agree on the scope, timetable and fixed fee. Clients get faster execution and lower, predictable costs.
Why do this and why now?
My career has been guided by a simple goal: help lawyers go home earlier and clients close deals faster. AI can now handle meaningful parts of transaction work, but most law firms still make more money when work takes longer. Kieran and I founded the technology company Athena runs on to build the systems behind a faster model, while Athena delivers the legal work through former AmLaw 50 partners and counsel on fixed fees.
Do you believe NewMods will change the legal world?
Yes. AI use will become standard, so that alone is not the change. NewMods matter because they rebuild workflows, pricing and incentives around the technology. The firms that combine experienced lawyers with better economics will reset client expectations on speed, cost and accountability.
What did you learn from Legora?
Two things. First, lawyers will adopt AI quickly when it genuinely improves their work. Second, software alone does not change the economics of legal services. If the firm still sells hours, efficiency is not necessarily passed to the client. Athena connects the technology to a legal-service model built entirely around fixed fees.
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