I'm shocked to see how many ECVC partners my firm is poaching. It is, in my opinion, the most AI-replaceable practice there is on the corporate side, alongside Funds(another field where my firm is poach-happy). I don't work on ECVC, but I imagine they will eventually ask me to do something, so it would be good to know how much of an open mind I should have.
Can someone make the alternative case for why ECVC is a practice worth investing in? I Don't think I'm smarter than management com, but this shit is baffling. The NVCA forms are standardized, so there aren't that many associate hours to bill; the clients are usually hard to work with and think lawyers are all replaceable by AI and take on so much risk; they conflict other corporate teams out of work...
But most importantly, the clients don't have money!!! Alternative fee arrangements, despite what ppl say, are terrible for firms. At least the Funds teams have clients with infinite cash and will not question the bill; I imagine ECVC realization could be so hard.
Would appreciate some practitioners to give me a full view of ECVC's business upside. I'm in no way saying your practice is not meaningful or it isn't worth doing; I'm just wondering if the things I say are real concerns and how bad they are.