LawTech: How to Succeed as a Startup

The legal industry is built upon tradition and structure - so, it’s no wonder that it is one of the slowest to adopt new technology. That being said, there is an emerging corner of the tech market - LawTech - specifically working to develop technology that “supports, supplements or replaces traditional methods for delivering legal services”.

It’s clear that there is an appetite for LawTech, as the industry is worth nearly $16bn and growing. However, cutting through the noise and making a mark on the legal sector isn’t easy, while the impact of a successful LawTech startup is undeniable.

So, how do you rise above and find success in LawTech?

Making an impact in LawTech

LawTech is not just technology used by lawyers. It covers tools and services that aim to improve consumer and business legal processes, whether by facilitating access to legal information or streamlining communication and reporting procedures.

While the term “disruptive” is often overused in the tech space, there are few places where is it more relevant than in the legal sector. Effecting change, even if that means better working practices, more time and saving money, in an industry firmly established for thousands of years, is not easy. And we’ve seen resistance on different levels within the sector, too.

According to a report commissioned by The Law Society, smaller law firms are more likely to reject new technology, particularly that which could affect client interaction and streamline processes.

On the other hand, large firms fly ahead with disruptive technology - an attitude that proved fruitful earlier this year when the lockdown hit and office spaces closed in March 2020.

With LawTech tools already implemented across the board, large law firms were able to seamlessly move to remote casework, document management and video conferencing, while their smaller counterparts struggle to pass the start line, having been faced with basic operational issues surrounding remote working.

The hallmarks of a successful LawTech startup

Understanding the impact LawTech could make and is already making is the first step towards changing attitudes in the industry. Startups like StructureFlow are working to improve processes and, ultimately, save time for law firms with its powerful data modelling tool.

StructureFlow’s product can display complicated legal environments in a comprehensive manner, making it easier to create, develop and share legal diagrams and charts.

Not only is StructureFlow’s technology an impressive feat of software engineering (we should know, we built it!), but it also has the potential to remedy many of the legal sector’s most common pain-points. The visual structuring tool provides a dynamic and infinite workspace that can be easily accessed by stakeholders. It provides powerful data to improve analysis and drive informed decision making.

Sharing StructureFlow’s ambitions for efficiency, consistency and scalability, Libryo is tackling one of the legal sector’s oldest and most prolific problems: the delivery and management of regulation and compliance information.

The UK-based startup’s solution filters all law and aims to only deliver relevant regulations for any business. Regulatory law is notorious for over-complication, repeated iterations and varying document management processes on an international scale, making locating the right regulations difficult for even the most proficient legal professional.

The cloud-based “legal librarian” provides smart and effective locating and sharing of regulatory information, so businesses can save time and money without risking compliance status.

Although Libryo is a LawTech startup, it provides a service that will prove invaluable to businesses in all sectors - not just legal. This is the perfect example of how the LawTech industry is delivering effective solutions to age-old problems across the board.

The consumer-side of law is also embracing tech, with Leeds-based startup Rradar pioneering a digital-first approach to litigation and commercial law. Proudly providing “smarter legal services” to businesses, Rradar delivers vital legal knowledge and advice via dynamic technology platforms. The startup goes further than just supporting businesses with commercial law and litigation claims, it also takes a proactive approach to educate, manage and advise companies - thus minimising legal risks for companies.

While all three of these LawTech startups we’ve explored deliver very different services to various audiences, one thing’s for sure: they all aim to drive real and tangible results that make an undeniably positive change to the industry that they touch.

Where StructureFlow provides data modelling solutions that not only save time but also improve accuracy and streamline communication processes for legal professionals and their partners, Rradar and Libryo also provide time-saving technology to their own individual markets.

These startups share a mission to develop and deliver technology that helps promote accessibility, proactivity and positive change to the legal industry and all those who interact with it. They’re moving the legal sector into the 21st century and innovating to transform the sector, which can only be a good thing for all.