Heretik’s Ex-CEO Charlie Connor Leaves Relativity for Gravity Stack

Charlie Connor, who co-created one of the early AI doc analysis companies, Heretik, back in 2016, has joined Gravity Stack (GS) to help its clients with contract solutions. Most recently he was at Relativity, which bought his company in 2022.

Connor is now Assistant Director of Legal Business Solutions at GS, which is wholly owned by Reed Smith, but operates as a separate entity. He will be leveraging his expertise ‘in a tech-agnostic capacity, helping clients to achieve the best results with the most effective tools available’.

That is to say, as part of GS’s growing tech services team he will be helping inhouse legal departments to pick and implement the best solutions, whether this is for broad CLM needs, or more specific contracting goals, and in both cases with plenty of AI involved.

Connor told Artificial Lawyer: ‘After years of selling and developing contract technology, I’m excited to take a broader view: using the best tools, regardless of platform, to solve the toughest challenges. The recent advances in LLMs have changed the game from when I was building contract tech, and I’m eager to explore how these innovations can further transform the field.’

He told this site that he had got to know GS’s boss, Bryon Bratcher, some time ago and they had kept in contact over the years. ‘He has been a friend and mentor to me,’ he added.

Connor also noted that he’d be working with clients on their use of data and meta-data to help improve their use of AI tools in contract work.

‘I’m looking forward to helping businesses to be more successful, to really create a solution for the enterprise that fits the need,’ he concluded.

Bratcher, Managing Director at GS, said: ‘We’re incredibly excited to welcome Charlie to the team. Charlie’s entrepreneurial mindset and his first-hand experience developing contract technology make him an exceptional addition to our leadership team. His ability to combine innovation with real-world insights will elevate the way we approach contracts work across all service lines.’

The move marks another expansionary step for the Reed Smith-owned Gravity Stack, which launched in 2018 and is now increasingly focusing on tech services for clients. Its services now encompass: Forensics and Investigations, Disputes and eDiscovery, Cybersecurity and Incident Response, Corporate Transactions, Contract Management, Legal Business Consulting, and Legal AI Transformation.

More broadly the move comes at a time when inhouse legal teams are increasingly embracing the use of AI, especially for their contract needs. GS now has over 40 people working on projects for clients, and their work, plus that of many other organisations around the world, will only accelerate the incremental transformation of inhouse legal teams.