Venture Legal, Ed. 15, LegalTech Goes Global! (Part 1)
Venture Legal Series #15
Abstract
When Business Insider, reporting that LegalTech funding had crossed $1 billion so far this year, curated a select list of 10 LegalTech startups, two hailed from outside the U.S. – Sweden’s Legora, which had an $80M raise in May, and Britain’s Luminance, which had a $75M round in February.
This week’s edition of Venture Legal is a trip around the LegalTech world (Part 1), taking a 🌎 look at some of the startup activity and funding news in 🌎 Scandinavia and the ✈️ United Kingdom, Legora and Luminance’s respective regions, as well as:
✈️ Australia/New Zealand, including Lawpath, which developed its AI system through partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Anthropic, plus a host of other startups;
✈️ Africa, where AI is “revolutionizing” the continent’s legal system; and
✈️ Latin America, as Harvey recently launched a dedicated team in Mexico, Barcelona-based Bigle opened a Bogotá office, and Lexter.ai and Jusfy led recent fundraising rounds.
➕ Read the full article below where I put it all in context of the history of LegalTech & key trends to watch going forward.
Full Article
This spring marked a milestone in LegalTech, with what was heralded as the “largest deal in legal-tech history”: Clio’s $1 billion acquisition of vLex.
One notable aspect of the headline-making deal: its international scope.
Clio, a global LegalTech provider headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, was acquiring vLex, a Barcelona-based global legal intelligence platform, from pan-European private equity investor Oakley Capital.
In the previous edition of Venture Legal, I took an overview look at the current state of LegalTech funding, adoption and competition.
For this edition, I wanted to examine the LegalTech startup landscape globally. While a comprehensive analysis of the full spectrum of LegalTech worldwide would be outside the scope and format of this newsletter, for here, let’s take a bird’s eye view of some of the recent developments in the industry around the world. ✈️
But first, a brief history of the sector.
Origin of LegalTech + Global Expansion 🌎
While the technological disruption of the legal industry has hit a massive pace and global scale, the industry has long evolved based on technological breakthroughs.
Here is a brief timeline.
As Jan L. Jacobowitz wrote in the Vanderbilt Journal of Entertainment & Technology Law, “The nineteenth century …appears to be the juncture at which the arrival of early forms of innovative technology began its impact on the legal profession.,” citing as examples the typewriter (a “speed demon in its day” that was “revolutionary”) as well as the telephone.
“As the world moved into the late twentieth century, the landline eventually gave way to the cordless phone, the cellular phone, and the smartphone…,” she writes.
“The start of the computer revolution in law begins in 1973, when Lexis invented the red ‘UBIQ’ terminal to let lawyers search case law online” rather than research through books, writes Ron Friedman.
With the advent of the personal computer, introduced by IBM in 1981, and then the internet in the 1990s, and social media from there, the change accelerated.
Enter a “pre-wave” of LegalTech companies in the 1990s, focused on areas such as online dispute resolution and online CLEs; however as Dennis Kennedy, academician at the Center for Law, Technology & Innovation at Michigan State University, says, the “technology wasn’t quite there in the same way it is now. You had all these ideas of people trying things that in retrospect were unbelievably ambitious,” which the existing technology couldn’t support.
Following the dot-com crash in the early 2000s, the tech scene resurged and LegalTech saw scores of startups hit the scene in the 2010s. Writes Artificial Lawyer, “‘Legal AI’ as a subject really got going in the 2010s, coming to broader market attention in around 2015/2016 as a growing number of startups arrived, using machine learning and earlier versions of Natural Language Processing.” (It was within that time frame that my company launched early LegalTech offerings as well utilizing machine learning and NLP.)
The pandemic further accelerated change, as lawyers adopted remote work and leveraged technology in new ways.
Reports Reuters, “2021 was a busy year for the still emerging legal technology sector as several companies went public, and investors poured capital into private companies in the space.” LegalZoom.com Inc, CS Disco Inc and Intapp Inc all had IPOs that year.
Today, as Kennedy says, “...There’s a great new generation of people in LegalTech and they have the ability to try things through the startup venture capital world that in a way that wasn’t done in the past,” adding that there is also “this realization now more so than back then that there’s a lot of systems that are really broken and so it is important to try new things” in the legal industry.
Now, we are seeing those possibilities explored through a growing LegalTech startup ecosystem on a global scale.
SCANDINAVIA
This spring, when Legora, founded in Sweden in 2023, announced its $80 million Series B funding funding round led by ICONIQ and General Catalyst, the company noted, “The news comes as adoption of legal AI surges across the world,” and placed Legora “at the forefront of this shift - with lawyers across 250 firms and legal teams in 20 markets currently making daily use of its global platform…” Legora opened a US headquarters in March, also announcing a strategic partnership with global law firm Goodwin. And, earlier this month, Legora also announced a strategic relationship with Deloitte Legal in the UK.
Legora is not the only LegalTech startup from the region making headlines.
When Danish LegalTech startup Pandektes secured €2.9m in seed funding from Danish venture capital firm People Ventures, German fund Interface Capital, and a group of prominent Nordic business angels, Artificial Lawyer noted, “It’s one of a growing number of Scandinavian legal tech companies gaining market attention, often with a strong basis in genAI…”
Some of these companies include:
Swedish startup PocketLaw, a contract automation software-as-a-service legal tech platform that is mainly focused on SMEs, announced €10 million in Series A funding led by European VC firm, Atomico, to fuel expansion in Europe. The company cited an array of consumer SMEs, as well as some larger enterprises such as Babybjorn among its client roster.
In June, London-based global law firm DLA Piper announced it entered into a strategic partnership with Oslo-based agentic AI LegalTech Newcode.ai to deploy agentic AI workflows across its operations in Finland, Sweden, and Norway.
Copenhagen-based Juristic last year announced a $1 million fundraise to fuel its growth and expansion plans in Scandinavia and Europe.
Sweden-based Lightbringer, last year announced a €4.2 million led by Luminar Ventures and Alliance VC, with participation from Zenith Ventures and Nordic angel investors, to expand into Europe and the US, and to develop their AI-powered platform, which is designed to enable SMEs to protect their IPs more effectively and efficiently.
UNITED KINGDOM
In June, UK-based LegalTech platform Definely announced a $30 million Series B from a mix of European and North American investors, including Revaia, Alumni Ventures, and Beacon Capital, with reports noting the “fresh capital will be used to further the company’s expansion into the U.S.”
The company was founded by Nnamdi Emelifeonwu, a Nigerian immigrant to the UK, and Feargus MacDaeid, one of the UK’s “few registered blind lawyers,” a “unique professional experience” which “has fundamentally shaped Definely’s product.”
The startup, which is focused on allowing lawyers to more seamlessly review and edit complex contracts, in March released a market report which found that 46% of UK in-house lawyers believe they are lagging behind firms in AI adoption and 22% of UK respondents are satisfied with legaltech ROI compared to 51% in the US.
Definely is part of a booming UK LegalTech scene addressing that perceived lag in UK legal teams’ AI adoption.
London-based AI legal assistant Genie AI last year announced it had raised £13.3 million in Series A funding, led by GV (Google Ventures), and joined by Khosla Ventures, taking its total raised to over £15m. The company says it has drafted contracts in 120+ jurisdictions including the UK, California, Texas, India, Australia, South Africa, Singapore, France and Germany, with Vidu Shanmugarajah, partner at GV, saying “Genie is changing the way businesses all over the world transact.”
Luminance, which leverages a proprietary LLM and what it calls a “Panel of Judges” AI system, raised $75 million in a Series C funding round led by Point72 Private Investments, with reports noting, “the round is notable because it’s one of the largest capital raises by a pure-play legal AI company in the U.K. and Europe.”
Intelligent contract automation platform Juro earlier this year expanded with a US headquarters in Boston, to “serve its US customers and accelerate growth in its key market,” with Juro saying that companies in the Americas region represent 40 percent of customers and growing, and that it “serves more customers in the US than in any other country, with more than a third of its customer base located there - a proportion which is rapidly increasing,” including US customers such as Pfizer, Velocity Global, WeWork, Justworks, Encora and QuantumScape.
Headquartered in London, ContractPodAi supports its teams across New York, Glasgow, San Francisco, Toronto, Sydney, Mumbai, and other locations, focused on contract lifecycle management tools and a GenAI-powered legal assistant.
Earlier this year, legal transaction management platform Legatics CEO wrote he had “a front-row seat to a remarkable transformation. Watching our platform’s explosive growth in the US market,” which he said “made me reflect deeply on why British legal tech is making such powerful waves across the Atlantic,” a phenomenon he attributed to the common law connection, collaborative innovation and regulatory evolution.
There have also been several US acquisitions of UK-based companies. In 2024, Chicago-based Litera announced its acquisition of UK-based mass editing and document-generation platform Office & Dragons; US legal services business Harbor acquired UK legaltech firm Ascertus; and US-based Consilio acquired SYKE, a UK legal technology consultancy, a move which was said to extend Consilio’s enterprise legal services business to Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Australia, as well as expand its current UK business.
AUSTRALIA / NEW ZEALAND
Earlier this year, when Lawpath, which developed its AI system through partnerships with Amazon Web Services and Anthropic, secured a $10 million strategic investment from Westpac, Australia’s oldest bank, it noted it has become one of the largest SME-focused legal AI systems in the world.
As LawSites reported, “Lawpath said it now facilitates 7% of all business incorporations in Australia. The company says its platform has achieved substantial market penetration in the SME sector, which comprises 98% of Australian businesses and contributes approximately $590 billion to the economy annually.”
The array of LegalTech companies in Australia / New Zealand include:
Habeas, which takes the position that “Aussie law firms deserve AI solutions that are tailored to their unique problems and interests,” has developed an AI platform to streamline legal research and frustrations associated with traditional database search.
In May, Australian AI-driven legal automation platform Plexus raised $6m funding, led by Seattle-based Lighter Capital and existing shareholders. The news followed the company’s 2022 sale of its legal secondment arm to Axiom. Reports say the platform is currently used by companies such as Nike, L’Oréal, and PepsiCo for contract review, compliance workflows, and approvals.
New Zealand-based Dispute Buddy, which focuses on streamlining legal evidence collection for individuals and lawyers by facilitating the screen-recording of messages and emails, announced backing from global all-female investment collective Epic Angels.
Independent Australian law firm Lander & Rogers’ 2025 LawTech Hub includes a cohort of startups, such as Melbourne-based Amender, a platform that catches every drafting comment in lawyers’ emails and mark-ups; Sydney-based Courtaid, which utilizes AI to speed up legal research; Sydney’s DDLoop, a system that helps law firms automate legal due diligence of government registers; and Gold Coast-based Lawme, an AI workforce factory.
AFRICA
“Africa’s legal industry has long struggled with inefficiencies, limited access to justice, and high barriers to entry for legal services,” reported African Business in an article entitled, “How AI is revolutionizing Africa’s legal industry.”
“Having been active in the legal space in Africa for decades, we have first-hand experience of how difficult it is to find trustworthy information on local laws, regulations and practices — and how this can frustrate plans and significantly increase the cost of doing business. Afriwise was born out of our vision to make legal intelligence accessible,” says Founder & CEO Steven De Backer on the company’s website.
In August, the company announced its acquisition of LawExplorer in what they described as a “landmark deal.”
Other recent developments include:
Tunisian legal-tech startup Juridoc also this year announced it has raised an undisclosed amount of funding to help it accelerate the digitalisation of legal services in Africa and the Middle East. Founded in 2021, Juridoc simplifies access to legal resources through a comprehensive database that includes legislation, case law, doctrine, and legal monitoring.
In June, Lagos-based LegalTech platform Modulaw.AI debuted its AI legal assistant, which was said to “function like a digital legal associate.”
Nigeria-based CaseRadar says its AI platform, powered by digitized Nigerian court documents not previously available online, was created to help Nigerians learn more about the law, receive legal guidance, and find lawyers suited to their cases and has over 1,400 users.
LATIN AMERICA
In 2023, Thomson Reuters reported, “As the legal tech market booms around the world, its growth and impact in the Latin American legal market seems more muted…,” a pace which could be changing.
When Harvey announced a $300 million Series E capital raise, CEO Winston Weinberg told Artificial Lawyer the company would be “investing more in international expansion and supporting customers around the globe. We are in 53 countries now and want to support that growth.”
In August, Harvey announced one such international expansion with the launch of a dedicated team in Mexico, noting the “legal sector is evolving quickly throughout Latin America, with increasing demand for technology that enables speed, accuracy, and scale.
Some additional recent headlines include:
Barcelona-based Bigle also opened a new office in Bogotá, Colombia, “reinforcing its presence in Latin America,” with reports noting, “Bigle sees Colombia as a key hub for its growth in Latin America. The company already serves clients in strategic markets such as Colombia, Mexico, and Chile…”
In 2024, Lexter.ai raised R$16M, led by Alexia Ventures, to expand its AI-powered legal services across Brazil.
Brazilian legaltech Jusfy raised an undisclosed amount in a Pre-Series A round led by SaasHolic and Maya Capital, bringing its valuation to $30M.
Iconekta’s business generator uses intelligent assistants to generate strategic connections designed to boost legal practices, with a tagline, “Revolutionizing Latin America.”
👉🏻 The Bottom Line
🌍 The legal industry is transforming worldwide.
The above roundup represents just a snapshot of the massive LegalTech startup activity ongoing around the world, and in a later edition of Venture Legal (and in Part 2 of this edition), I’ll explore additional regions, such as Canada, Asia, India and the Middle East.
The glimpse provided here, reflecting just some of the headlines, in select regions, is indicative of a global legal industry in the midst of a once-in-a-generation change, and a vast universe of startups and investors powering that shift.
From the samplings of startups from the regions covered here, a few key trends emerge:
Focus on agentic AI: Earlier this year, I covered agentic AI in legal, a focus which continues globally. From Oslo’s Newcode.ai, to London’s Genie AI, Lagos’ Modulaw.AI and LATAM’s Iconekta, startups are implementing AI assistants for legal around the globe.
Solving challenges for SMEs: Sweden’s PocketLaw and Lightbringer and Australia’s LawPath are examples of startups that focus on solving challenges specifically for the SME sector.
Addressing the local markets: Companies such as Australia’s Habeas and Nigeria’s CaseRadar focus on curating solutions specific to their individual country’s legal systems, while Afriwise and Iconekta focus on their continents.
As we look to the future, expect to see these trajectories continue, as well as more international expansions, mergers, investments and deals, as startups and investors seek to control greater market share.
I’ll continue to track these developments into Q4 and beyond.
🎤 Podcast
I enjoyed speaking with SpotDraft’s Tyler Finn on The Abstract podcast, for a great conversation that covered everything from my perspectives on the founder’s mindset and journey to LegalTech trends and AI.
We discussed topics such as:
💫 Founder lessons and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs
💫 What’s exciting in the LegalTech space
💫 What to expect next for AI in legal.
🗓️ Join Us at Tech Week in San Francisco!
The future of the legal industry is happening now - and at San Francisco’s Tech Week, I’ll be convening General Counsel, Chief Legal Officers, Legal Operations leaders, LegalTech founders, and the investors backing them, for an exclusive conversation on what’s next for LegalTech and AI in the enterprise, the practical challenges with adoption and more. We’ll tackle the big questions around how AI implementations succeed spectacularly and where more work needs to be done. I’d love to see you there!
Save the Date: October 8th @ 3:00pm PST
Space is limited. Register Here!
💬 Let’s Connect!
What are your thoughts on the global LegalTech landscape? Do you have a prediction of international companies to watch? Drop a comment, share your insights, or suggest a topic for my next issue!
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