The UK's offer Home to almost half of all lawtech startups headquartered in Europe The Financial Times’ top 5 most innovative law firms in Europe are all UK firms A leading lawtech startup/scaleup market - with a 101% average annual investment growth rate over the past three years A growing sector, around 200 UK lawtech businesses have attracted £674m in investment as of the end of 2020 – a figure expected to rise to £2.2bn in annual investment by 2026 Access to a wide pool of top talent with a legal sector that employs over 350,000 people Lawtech in the UK The UK is host to the largest legal services market in Europe – second only to the US globally - and is supported by world-renowned talent and dispute resolution facilities. The ability of English law to provide predictable and fair dispute resolution outcomes is essential to business-confidence and plays a key role in supporting the UK as an international financial centre. Legal services also provide strategic advice during many stages of a business’ lifecycle, the breadth of which makes the UK an attractive place to start, run and scale a business. Lawtech Sounding Board The LTSB acts as the leading cross-sector forum for innovation across the UK legal services industry. Through it, members explore the opportunities and challenges presented by technology, and drive positive change and innovation in the sector. Find out more about the LTSB Employing over 358,000 people, the legal sector is constantly developing new client support and innovation roles as well as alternative business structures to meet changing client needs. The UK legal sector is also using technology to provide tailored services to global businesses. Over £61 million invested in lawtech in 2019 UK law firms made up all of the top 5 and 12 of the top 16 most innovative law firms in Europe in a 2021 ranking by the Financial Times. Law firms are heavily invested in the sector, with some launching incubator tech hubs and others partnering with software developers to create custom products. The Ministry of Justice has identified lawtech as a strategic opportunity to build on the UK’s competitive advantage in the legal and tech sectors. It is investing £2 million in projects for the ‘digital transformation of the UK legal sector’, which is being led by Tech Nation through LawtechUK. There is also tremendous growth in lawtech start-ups, with the UK hosting almost half of those headquartered in the EU. The end effect is a legal services offering that is inherently more competitive because it is transparent, efficient and client centric. This widespread development has put UK legal services at the cutting-edge of innovation. Lawtech attracts top talent in new roles such as data science and analytics, as well as knowledge management and information technology. This brings with it new perspectives and new ways of working. It also drives the advancement of digital infrastructure, improving productivity, resilience and security. Lawtech enables businesses to access the advice they need to compete globally. In doing so, it builds a collaborative environment and helps the UK to be fit for the future. $15.9bn market worth of lawtech globally 101% average annual investment growth in the UK lawtech startup/scaleup market over the past three years £674m invested in around 200 UK lawtech businesses as of end of 2020 The lawtech lifecycle As a centre of excellence, UK law firms are using lawtech to deliver more client-oriented services, in a faster and more globally accessible manner. Watch our video series to learn how the UK’s lawtech sector supports businesses and legal services in reaching their goals. Watch now Partner story Nakhoda Nakhoda Partner Story Simmons Wavelength Simmons Wavelength Partner story Clarilis Clarilis Partner story Hunit Hunit See more case studies Innovation Ambassadors: leading change for the future of Legal The City of London Corporation piloted a legal innovation programme, delivered in conjunction with KPMG, to drive collaboration, digital literacy, and legal innovation across the UK. Find out more about the programme Further information The Legal Geek startup map The Legal Geek startup map Lawtech at The Law Society Lawtech at The Law Society Solicitors Regulation Authority Solicitors Regulation Authority "London is a global leader in legal innovation: Our vibrant ecosystem of start-ups, tech companies, and forward-looking, innovative law firms are powering the global revolution in law." Sophia Adams Bhatti (Head of Strategy and Policy), Erika Pagano (Head of Legal Innovation and Design) Simmons Wavelength "London is hard to beat as a launchpad for legaltech startups. Built on legal traditions, there is now a concentration of people in the City actively building the future of legal services using cloud-based technologies." Paul Massey, CEO Tabled 1 2