Legal technology has been allocated a further £1.5m in government investment designed to help startups attract further private investment said Justice Minister Sarah Sackman KC MP in a speech to professionals at the first-ever UK Lawtech Conference.
The funding has been allocated to LawTechUK, a government-backed initiative launched in 2019 with the aim to transform the UK legal sector through technology, provide resources and courses, and to promote new ways of delivering and accessing legal services digitally. To date it has received £6m in funding. claiming to have delivered private investment of over £139m into the firms it has incubated.
Greater use of AI and technology in legal services will spur economic growth say the government, maintaining the UK’s ‘leading position’ in the international legal services market which is worth £37 billion to the UK economy every year.
“Lawtech is making legal services faster, more efficient, and more accessible. It is transforming how we work, and opening justice up to more people, at lower costs. This isn’t just a win for law firms, or even the prestige of our legal services sector. Lawtech is also a powerhouse for the UK economy.”
said Courts and Legal Services Minister, Sackman
Since 2023, LawTechUK has directly supported over 176 startups to grow and the legal services sector is now estimated to provide over 300,000 jobs in the UK. A series of roadshows in 2024 saw them take providers around the country and through events like the conference connects businesses with investors, builds relationships between technology companies and law firms.
Over half of the participants in LawTechUK’s education programmes come from outside London and the South-East, ensuring the benefits of legal technology reach across the country. The Ministry of Justice also delivers the GREAT Legal Services campaign which promotes the strength of UK legal services and the UK as a legal centre to the global market.
Commenting on the latest investment announcement Jon Hope, SVP at CodeBase, said:
Building on the success of the past two years, we are excited to extend LawtechUK into its third year. Together with our delivery partners, Legal Geek, we remain committed to driving innovation and transformation in the legal industry. We are proud of the impact LawTechUK has already made and look forward to continuing to shape the future of the legal sector.
Beth Fellner, Director at Legal Geek, added:
“Legal Geek and our delivery partner, CodeBase, have delivered a high impact programme of activity over the last two years. We are ready to build on this work during a third year and continue to drive digital transformation in the legal sector across the UK.”
