What Lawyers See Before Credit Union AI Deals Go Wrong

Ankur Patel interviews Michael Heller, Associate Attorney at Messick Lauer & Smith.📩 Subscribe to the Main Street AI Newsletter: https://multimodal.beehiiv.com/subscribe?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=podcastMichael Heller is an Associate Attorney at Messick Lauer & Smith, where he focuses on vendor management, technology contracts, due diligence, and fintech partnerships for credit unions and CUSOs.Guest: Michael Heller, Associate Attorney, Messick Lauer & SmithHost: Ankur Patel, CEO & Founder, Multimodal0:00 Introduction0:42 How Michael started in vendor management for CUs2:56 Credit unions, CUSOs, and where fintechs fit in4:14 The nature of the deals: vendor, M&A, and CUSO formation5:32 Where credit union and tech vendor deals actually go wrong7:39 Regulated stability vs. move-fast disruption9:26 Honeymooning and the seeds of discontent12:16 Why agentic AI deals are harder than traditional software14:53 Clear exit pathways and a robust change management process16:32 Indemnification, liability caps, audit rights17:58 Building a risk framework20:00 Tricks of the trade24:13 Setting up a long-term partnership and allocating risk25:00 AI in credit decisioning: who holds the liability?26:13 You can't outsource risk27:44 AI as a tool: the human in the loop stays on the hook29:44 State vs. federal AI regulation31:16 Right-sizing AI adoption for smaller credit unions34:17 How AI is reshaping the legal profession37:08 Why lawyers are a shield and the cost of getting it wrong38:14 What a credit union that gets this right looks like in 2-3 years40:08 Closing