Inside Jon Rowe’s journey from coder to legal innovator
We’re excited to share something a little different (and deeply personal) from our founder and CEO, Jon Rowe. His new book, Forging Code and Trust: Three Decades of Legal Tech Innovation, is part memoir, part field guide, and all heart. This isn’t just a recap of past wins. It’s a raw, behind-the-scenes look at how legal technology gets built—from messy moments to meaningful breakthroughs and what it takes to create tools that people actually trust.
From Basement Builds to Global Legal Tools
Before founding Pinpoint Labs, before launching LAW PreDiscovery, and before creating tools now used by law firms, corporations, and forensic labs around the world, Jon was writing code for forensic tools in high school. Forging Code and Trust follows that early start through the founding of two software companies and the launch of over 30 tools that are still in use today. But beyond the tech, this is a book about decisions:
- How do you know when to build or pivot?
- How do you keep privacy and defensibility at the core?
- And how do you create tools that do more than function, they earn trust?
Whether you’re in legal, tech, or just love a founder story, the book is full of practical takeaways and memorable moments, including:
- The story behind industry staples like LAW PreDiscovery and CrossCopy
- Forensic field stories, including the time a hidden laptop changed a case
- Leadership lessons like why a forensics bag once needed hot dogs
- Real product insights, drawn from late-night calls and client frustrations
- A forward-looking take on mobile collections, privacy-first AI, and ethics in innovation
A Few Lines That Hit Home
“We weren’t just building software. We were building trust.”
“Some of our best tools came from late-night calls and hallway frustrations—not whiteboards.”
“There’s no perfect product. No perfect company. No perfect roadmap. But there is something lasting in the people you build with, the clients who become partners, and the quiet knowledge that you left something useful behind.”
Legal tech is moving fast. But innovation without integrity doesn’t stick. This book reminds us that the most enduring tools and companies aren’t just built with code. They’re built with people, perspective, and a little bit of grit.
If you’ve ever wondered what happens behind the scenes in legal tech (or at Pinpoint Labs) or if you’re navigating your product journey, Forging Code and Trust is worth your time.
Now available in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle on Amazon.