SMEs (small and medium-sized enterprises) account for 99.9% of the business population1 and yet many find accessing legal services a relatively daunting, challenging and sometimes expensive proposition. Enter the new wave of lawtech companies who are playing a crucial role for SME and startup/scaleup businesses – helping companies access legal advice and documentation when either their budgets or people resources are stretched. LawtechUK, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) backed initiative, is a driving force behind this digital transformation in the legal sector while also hoping to boost more entrepreneurial activity and inspire more founders to launch lawtech start-ups.
“It is essential that everyone can access justice, whether as a private individual or as a business. This is especially crucial for SMEs, who often struggle to find or afford legal services. Research shows that over a quarter of SMEs have lost income due to legal issues but only 16% have instructed a solicitor to solve a legal issue.2 The growth of lawtechs servicing SMEs is helping to address this gap with with easily accessible, targeted and affordable legal services” says Christina Blacklaws, Chair of LawtechUK’s Panel. “This helps businesses particularly when starting or scaling up, allowing founders to concentrate on building a successful business.”
The range of lawtechs now servicing SMEs offer solutions that help during three key life stages of a business: launch, growth and success.
- At launch: While winning a new client is always a source of celebration, businesses want to focus on servicing those clients rather than dealing with onboarding paperwork. Numerous lawtechs are offering easier ways to handle this, from templates for contracts, engagement letters and NDAs to effective KYC and AML, allowing business owners to concentrate on landing clients rather than admin.
- In the growth stage: Proving credibility and being seen as a trusted potential supplier is key for an SME, and proving value to clients is a constant challenge. There are tech companies to help overcome this, for example, in the field of GDPR where Keepabl is focused on helping companies demonstrate their GDPR status to internal and external stakeholders – crucial in the “Trust Economy”. Other lawtechs focus on employment and HR issues so companies can successfully recruit, onboard and retain employees who are helping to fuel their growth.
- A successful UK business may be one looking into new overseas markets where elements like protecting your IP can be important when competing on the world stage (and in particular within the United States), which is where virtual patent marking from Terrifio can play an important role in providing peace of mind to ambitious entrepreneurs.
LawtechUK has published an Ecosystem Tracker, a searchable online resource for companies looking for lawtech support. 68% of UK lawtech companies focus on catering to the needs of businesses, transforming traditional legal processes and operations, providing tools and platforms that enhance efficiency, reduce costs and improve the quality of legal services for businesses. From automating mundane tasks to offering sophisticated analytics for better decision-making, the focus on B2B solutions is a testament to the lawtech sector’s commitment to addressing the complex needs of modern businesses.
Some of the companies that feature on the Tracker and are focused on the SME sector include:
• Genie AI
The world’s largest open-source legal database, helping businesses understand, customise & negotiate any legal document like a pro with legal AI assistance.
• MyDocSafe
Has an offering particularly developed for SMEs: offering client portals as well as e-signature, onboarding automation and compliance tools.
• Sule Hub
Aims to simplify the legal process, demystify jargon and empower founders who deserve to receive great legal support without the stress of navigating complex legal intricacies.
• Zegal
The founders of Zegal set out on a mission to democratise quality legal services for businesses, developing a platform that delivers a ‘corporate law firm’ experience for everyone online.
To help support aspiring lawtech founders, LawtechUK runs free events regionally and on topics such as Generative AI and investment. It also runs a number of free programmes to support lawtech founders at every stage of their development journey:
• Lawtech Fundamentals – a self-paced online course for anyone interested in lawtech startups or in the ideation process.
• Lawtech Builder – a cohort-based programme for current or prospective founders ready to move beyond ideation and to launch an MVP to the lawtech market.
• Lawtech Scaler – an intensive, interactive, cohort-based programme for lawtech founders ready to take their MVP to the next level. Participants learn how to build early traction tactics and long-term growth strategies.
• Lawtech Mentoring – an objective-led mentoring programme, connecting startups and scaleups to a mentor within the LawtechUK network who can support in working toward startup/business objectives.
• Lawtech Bridge – brings startups and established legal market players together to share and drive innovation.
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*Sources
1: 2023 figures: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/business-population-estimates-2023/business-population-estimates-for-the-uk-and-regions-2023-statistical-release
2: Small Business Legal Needs report
