Canadian legal AI company Spellbook is putting $1 million behind the next generation of legal innovators.
The Toronto-headquartered company has announced the Spellbook Legal Fellowship Fund, a new initiative designed to support law students working at the intersection of legal practice, systems thinking, and technology.
The fund will back students who want to tackle what Spellbook describes as “broken legal workflows”—the inefficient processes, handoffs, templates, and habits that continue to shape day-to-day legal work.
Each semester, Spellbook plans to select one or more fellows to focus on a specific legal workflow problem and develop a concrete deliverable over the course of a semester. Projects could range from improving inconsistent contract review processes to redesigning negotiation workflows that create unnecessary friction.
For 2026, fellows will receive $25,000 in funding, mentorship from Spellbook co-founder Daniel Di Maria and other members of the Spellbook team, free access to Spellbook for five years, early access to beta features, and support through a semester-long project.
“The legal industry needs more lawyers who can connect legal judgment with systems thinking,” Di Maria wrote in the announcement. “People who can spot friction in workflows and help build something better. That is what this fellowship is designed to support.”
Spellbook said fellows will take part in one-on-one sessions with Di Maria, working sessions with the Spellbook team, and opportunities to pressure-test ideas with people actively building legal technology for real-world workflows.
The company emphasized that applicants do not need to know how to code. Instead, Spellbook is looking for students with a clear view of what is broken in legal work, curiosity about systems, exposure to technology, and a willingness to operate outside the traditional legal career path.
The fellowship reflects a broader shift in the legal sector as AI tools move from experimentation to implementation, creating demand for lawyers who understand not only legal doctrine but also how legal services are delivered, automated, and redesigned.
Spellbook says its AI suite for commercial legal work is now trusted by more than 4,500 in-house teams and law firms worldwide. The company’s tools help legal teams review, draft, compare, and work across legal documents, including contracts.
Applications for the Spellbook Legal Fellowship Fund are due July 15 and will be reviewed on a rolling basis.
Every student who applies for the fellowship will also be eligible for a free one-year Spellbook licence through the company’s Academic Partnership Program.