Lawhive Raises $40 Million to Go after Top US Lawyers
UK-based legal tech startup Legalwhich allows small “core” law firms to manage their matters through an AI-based SaaS platform, is on something of a tear. in April increase a seed round of $11.9 million. It has now raised $40 million in Series A funding to expand in the United States.
The round was co-led by existing investor GV (Google Ventures) and TQ Ventures.
Founded in 2019 by co-founders Pierre Proner (CEO), Jaime Van Oers (CTO) and Flinn Dolman, Lawhive automates much of the heavy lifting of consumer lawyers, speeding up their response times, allowing them to serve more clients and, they say, reducing costs for customers by up to 50%.
They appear to be kicking a door open. According a report80% of American consumers’ legal needs are not met. This is equivalent to a value of 1 trillion dollars a year.
To date, most legal tech startups are concentrated in “big law” firms. These include Harvey, Robin AI, and Spellbook. Most have avoided the “mainstream” law firms, which have much smaller budgets and are harder to monetize. Proner told TechCrunch that smaller companies have to “manage higher costs amid a shrinking market,” making them a mature market.
Proner added: “I’m sure we’ll see competition emerge (in the US), but for now we’re first in this space.”
When asked what moved the needle for GV, which has lately become more associated with DeepTech investments, he said: “I think the fact that we combined a consumer brand with deep tech, and the deep tech aspect of what we are building is our AI.” lawyer and the models, our proprietary models, that we have created to implement it. The interest was to combine aspects of a consumer brand, to build a global consumer brand, with R&D and a deep technological function, which is key to the progress we have been able to achieve.”
Lawhive says its AI, called ‘Lawrence’, passed the first part of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). Attorneys can also use the platform to work with their own clients or connect with consumers and small businesses through the Lawhive marketplace.
In a statement, Schuster Tanger, co-founder and co-director of TQ Ventures, added: “The US legal market, arguably the largest in the world, is ripe for disruption. “The pressing need for affordable legal access makes it the perfect environment for innovative technology solutions like Lawhive.”
Also participating in the round were Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1 and Premier League footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James.
Personal opinion:
“Lawhive’s $40 million raise signals a big vision to reshape the legal services market through digital innovation. The focus on attracting the top lawyers in the US reflects the company’s commitment to providing high-quality legal services. However, the project will need to prove its worth in a competitive market. If Lawhive succeeds in this, it could become a new model in the legal services industry.
