Inspiring Women in Law: a conversation with AI Expert Nicolle Lafosse, Of Counsel at Diaz Reus  

«I realized there were people creating a whole new economy who needed legal guidance»

Nicolle Lafosse’s journey into technology law started with a simple curiosity. She found herself wondering why the legal implications of Web3 weren’t being discussed more, especially early on. This curiosity led her to explore a new client base that many attorneys overlooked. She realized there were people creating a whole new economy who needed legal guidance.

Today, Nicolle is making waves in the tech law scene. She focuses on Blockchain and Web3, helping a wide range of clients—from gamers to NFT creators—navigate the complexities of the digital world.

As she talks about the fast-changing landscape of AI and Blockchain, Nicolle points out the challenges businesses face. She emphasizes the importance of having experienced legal support, noting that keeping up with how quickly technology is evolving is a significant legal challenge.

Nicolle is also passionate about supporting women in tech. She believes we need to advocate for more female representation in these fields, especially to address issues like gender bias in AI. Her involvement with Women in AI (WAI), a non-profit, community-driven initiative that brings awareness and knowledge through education, events, and blogging, highlights her commitment to promoting diversity and inclusion in the tech sector.

Nicolle participated in a TED Talk where she addressed the need to transform mindsets to fully embrace AI’s potential in enhancing daily life, offering valuable insights into how we can shift our perspectives on technology.

Join us as we explore Nicolle’s insights on the intersection of law and technology, her thoughts on the future of AI, and her advice for young women entering these exciting fields.

Latin Counsel: Can you tell us about your journey into technology law and what inspired you to specialize in Blockchain and Web3?

Nicolle Lafosse: It all started with curiosity. I found myself asking why no one was really talking about the legal implications of Web3—especially in its early days, when billions of dollars were being transacted without any real legal recourse. The justification? It was a "decentralized system." But to me, it looked more like a parallel world powered by FOMO and consumer-driven hype where the value of a digital asset wasn’t necessarily rooted in logic, but in demand, validation, and belief. The more I explored, the more questions I had. And eventually, things started to click but not because Web3 suddenly made perfect sense, but because I began to understand the psychology and behavior driving this new kind of market. That’s where everything shifted.

Web3 opened my eyes to a new kind of legal practice and a potential client base that most attorneys weren’t even thinking about. These weren’t your typical clients. They were gamers. Underage crypto millionaires. NFT artists. Influencers. Builders. Disruptors. All creating a digital economy unlike anything we’ve seen before. And instead of being intimidated by the unfamiliar, I felt energized by the possibilities. I saw a path forward to becoming something different: a crypto and AI attorney who actually understood the people behind the platforms, not just the tech, but the culture.

What I quickly learned is that this generation of innovators doesn’t connect with traditional attorneys because traditional attorneys haven’t taken the time to understand them. They don’t want formality for formality’s sake. They want guidance from someone who speaks their language and understands their world. That’s who I became: an attorney who doesn’t just advise from the outside, but one who has grown alongside the digital economy, shaped by the same questions and vision for the future. An untraditional lawyer for an untraditional market, rooted in tech, trust, and transformation.

Latin Counsel: In your view, what are the most significant legal challenges currently facing AI technologies?

Nicolle Lafosse: The most significant legal challenge is to keep up with how fast the technology is changing and the multiple ways in which users are adopting AI into their lives. This creates new legal challenges every day. Some deep learning AI models are so sophisticated that they make decisions on their own and users may be liable for an "AI decision" they would not have made themselves. Questions like should the manufacturer, software developer, or the user be liable for AI decisions are getting more complex every time.  

Latin Counsel: How can companies ensure they remain compliant with evolving laws surrounding AI and Blockchain?

Nicolle Lafosse: Retaining legal counsel that is experienced, understands the market behaviour around AI and understands where the policy makers are currently standing is key to staying compliant in an ever changing technology world. The biggest irony is for companies is to have an AI check on AI compliance. This works to some extent. An AI does not have the ability to strategize a creative and often, multi-layered solutions, to legal matters that have never been tried before. 

AI systems trained on datasets that fail to adequately represent female demographics may lead to discriminatory outcomes, potentially violating anti-discrimination laws and regulations while exposing businesses to reputational damage and litigation risks. It is imperative that AI models are developed with fairness, inclusivity, and accountability in mind, ensuring they reflect the diversity of the populations they serve. Gender bias on AI could result in legal, ethical, and reputational risks for businesses and organizations deploying AI technologies. 

Latin Counsel: How do you see the intersection of AI and Blockchain evolving in the next few years?

Nicolle Lafosse: There will be a moment where AI and Blockchain will be seamlessly integrated into our lives we won’t even think about it anymore.
Over the next few years, we’ll likely see AI using blockchain to validate data integrity, securely store training sets, and even log decisions made by machine learning models. This will be crucial in high-stakes sectors like finance, healthcare, and law, where both trust and traceability are non-negotiable. Likewise, blockchain protocols can be optimized by AI to improve scalability, detect anomalies, and enhance smart contract logic—creating more secure and adaptive decentralized systems.

This convergence will also accelerate the need for ethical standards and governance frameworks that can support both innovation and accountability. The evolution of these technologies won’t just be technical, it will be deeply human, and those who prioritize transparency, trust, and inclusion will lead the way.

Latin Counsel: Can you explain how AI can be utilized in risk management for Web3 projects?

Nicolle Lafosse: The projects that make AI part of their risk management strategy now are going to be the ones best positioned to lead, not just survive, as the legal and regulatory frameworks continue to take shape. AI can be set to resemble a system of checks and balances within their own AI systems and flag matters that need to be reviewed based on a recent changes on legislation and market behaviour. For instance, AI can track user interactions to detect manipulation or fraudulent activity in real-time, giving legal teams early warning to act before risks escalate. AI can also aid in reviewing and testing smart contracts for vulnerabilities, helping projects minimize legal liability from exploit related losses before deployment.

Latin Counsel: In your TED Talk, you addressed the need to transform mindsets to embrace AI’s potential. What key message did you hope to convey to your audience?

Nicolle Lafosse: Keeping up with AI is often overwhelming and for us to absorb and retain all the learning there is around AI, we need to have the proper mindset. That is, be ready to change your present in order to improve your future. The right mindset is necessary to leverage this new technology and instead of fearing it - learn to use it to your advantage, collaborate with it. Change is a non-negotiable when it comes to AI adoption.

Latin Counsel: How do you believe shifting perspectives on AI can enhance daily life for individuals and businesses?

Nicolle Lafosse: We all have the tools to reach exponential growth and become an upgraded version of ourselves. What AI allows us to do is grow beyond the limits we thought we had by enhancing skills we already have. Once we understand that, our mindset will have shifted we won’t fear new technology anymore. It will then, become our allay. Our most talented employee.

Latin Counsel: As an advocate for Women in AI, what initiatives do you support to promote female representation in technology fields?

Nicolle Lafosse: I am a member of International Association of Young Lawyers - Women in Tech division. We advocate for more women inclusion and educate others on the unique challenges women face in the tech space. Additionally, I am honoured to lead DRT’s first ever Women in AI panel showcasing women leaders in the tech space and demonstrating their support for more women inclusion.

There is a need to promote more female representation, especially when it comes to gender bias in AI. This form of bias could manifest in various forms, such as incorrect decision-making, discrimination in hiring processes, or unequal access to services. For example, having an AI hiring platform primarily trained using data from a male demographic may develop an incomplete understanding of how to respond to or interact with female users and potentially violating the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Another example is for instance, an AI system used for credit scoring or loan decisions trained primarily on male-centric data. The resulting model could inadvertently discriminate against female applicants thus potentially violating the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

Latin Counsel: What advice would you give to young women aspiring to enter the fields of AI and technology law?

Nicolle Lafosse: Be ready to break barriers and keep an open mind for unpredictable growth coupled with setbacks. There is a digital reality parallel to the world as we know it and it is fascinating. Many of the things we can do on a digital world could never be replicated in the real life. It requires time invested on learning new skills and a keen eye for fraud and misinformation. If you are ready for tech growth like never seen before, this is the time to get involved.

Latin Counsel: What key considerations do you take into account when drafting technology agreements like SaaS and PaaS agreements?

Nicolle Lafosse: Understanding a company’s ultimate business objective is essential when drafting SaaS and PaaS agreements. This clarity directly informs which contractual provisions are necessary, what terms may be excluded, and how language should be tailored to align with the company’s operational goals. In parallel, taking a proactive approach by anticipating worst-case scenarios serves as a sound legal strategy—allowing the company to build in safeguards, allocate risk appropriately, and establish clear contingencies should those risks materialize.

Equally important is a thorough understanding of the underlying technology. This knowledge not only informs the appropriate legal structure for the product or service but also plays a critical role in shaping market-specific strategies, particularly in areas such as regulatory compliance, data governance, and potential M&A positioning. For example, AI-driven hiring tools are subject to distinct legal frameworks in the United States compared to the European Union—each jurisdiction imposing unique obligations that must be reflected in the terms of the agreement. As such, geographic scope and demographic considerations must be factored into both SaaS and PaaS terms.

Finally, a clear assessment of whether the company intends to operate within a Web3 environment, or a hybrid of Web2 and Web3 infrastructure, is necessary to properly evaluate and address the legal risks unique to decentralized ecosystems, including tokenization, smart contract liability, and evolving jurisdictional oversight.

Latin Counsel: How do you approach negotiations in corporate partnerships involving Web3 projects?

Nicolle Lafosse: When negotiating over matters that have not been tried before, we must ensure the parties understand and agree there is an inherent risk to be taken. Knowing what the vision of the project is, is the first step to understanding the potential legal implications of what is being built. Often times we are in situations where we are testing the waters and some of the strategies are just trial periods to understand what works and what does not. All of these, while keeping a keen eye towards risk mitigation from the beginning. 
 
Disruption in Web3 often goes alongside being completely autonomous of any government regulation and being the first to disrupt the market in a positive way. Partnerships in Web3 are sometimes looking to become the most disruptive yet compliant force in the market. The real challenge comes when being so decentralized means having no redressability when things go south. A balance between decentralization and government checks and balances is an item that will always create some friction between the company’s vision and how they can accomplish that vision by being decentralized without giving away the legal protections for both consumers and corporations.

Latin Counsel: What trends do you foresee in the regulation of AI technologies in the coming years?

Nicolle Lafosse: I foresee a strong global push toward regulation that prioritizes transparency, accountability, and ethical alignment. We can expect future regulation to focus heavily on governance frameworks that ensure companies clearly explain how their AI systems make decisions, be bias-aware, and be auditable particularly in high-impact sectors like finance, healthcare, and law.

Agentic AI is a system that acts independently but still aligns with human values. This type of mindset will be key to shaping future policies. This isn’t just about compliance. It’s about making sure the tech we’re creating works for people, not just around them. And that means involving not just engineers, but also legal, ethical, and operational voices in the process from the start.

Latin Counsel: How does being bilingual in Spanish and English enhance your ability to work on international legal matters in tech?

Nicolle Lafosse: As Latin American markets and individuals increasingly look to transfer their businesses to the USA, they often encounter legal and technical terms that can be challenging, especially when English is not their first language. In a market that’s already complex, the last thing we want is a communication barrier. Being bilingual allows me to provide peace of mind to our clients, ensuring they receive sound legal advice in their native language. This ability to communicate clearly is a key part of how we help our clients feel at home and confident in addressing their business needs in the U.S.

Latin Counsel: What motivates you to continue speaking at international conferences, and what do you hope to achieve through these appearances?

Nicolle Lafosse: My goal is to always deliver meaningful value to the audience and help them build groundbreaking technology while mitigating unnecessary legal risk. I hope that my insights and observations will not only protect their interests but also empower responsible innovation.
I am deeply driven by the complexities that arise at the intersection of law and emerging technologies. The legal landscape we navigate today is markedly different from the one we knew two decades ago, and with each new advancement comes novel legal questions that require equally innovative solutions. The more intricate the matter, the more compelled I am to analyze it thoroughly and contribute to shaping a legal framework that meets the demands of this rapidly evolving technological era.

Latin Counsel: What legacy do you hope to leave in the fields of technology law and AI?

Nicolle Lafosse: I aim to play a role in shaping the future of technology developments through both, the innovations that are happening now and those still on the horizon. My goal is to lead the way in how we practice law, embracing disruption and addressing the unique legal needs of this new technological era. Technology-driven clients have a distinct vision for how they live and do business, from the way they communicate, to how they choose their partners, to executing groundbreaking projects. All of this has evolved, and with it, the practice of law must evolve too, ensuring we meet our clients’ needs in ways that reflect the future of business and innovation.

Latin Counsel: Are there any upcoming projects or initiatives you’re excited about that you can share with us?

Nicolle Lafosse: I am honoured to lead DRT’s first ever Women in AI panel held on April 14, 2025, showcasing women leaders in the tech space and demonstrating the law firm’s support for more women inclusion.

As an attorney working closely at the intersection of law and emerging technologies, I see firsthand how important it is to create spaces where women can share their expertise, build meaningful connections, and be recognized as key voices in shaping the future of innovation. This panel isn’t just an event, it’s a step toward shifting the narrative and ensuring that women are not only participating in the AI conversation, but also leading it. It’s a privilege to help move this mission forward with the support of a Law Firm that believes in the value of inclusion and forward-thinking leadership.

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