LegalTech that changes everything by not changing anything

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Lupl, a software platform being developed by three international law firms, has had another US$14 million invested in it to continue its development. Lupl is planning to launch in 2021. Australia’s Corrs Chambers Westgarth is one of the firms in the testing group.  Lupl has been described as an ‘open’ industry platform to enable lawyers to work seamlessly across disparate systems. It is expected to be taken up by both law firms and in-house legal departments. The key firms behind the project are CMS, Cooley and Rajah & Tann Asia.  The platform is designed to works with the tools and […]
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Lessons from losing US$75 million in the legal services market

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It was a moment of excitement in the business of law. Silicon Valley was going to show the world how to do legal services. It was led by Justin Kan, a successful tech entrepreneur. Read how it unfolded here. Then it folded. Here’s what Justin Kan learned, sharing his lessons in a series of Tweets. 10 months ago we shut down Atrium after raising $75m in venture capital. Anyone hearing that knows I made tons of mistakes along the way. Someone asked me today what my biggest lessons learned were. Here they are: — Justin Kan (@justinkan) January 6, 2021 […]
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DWF share price struggles – new operating structure announced

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DWF’s share price on the London Stock Exchange is 33% below its listing price. It listed in March 2019 at 122p and was 82.10p on 16 January 2021. It has come back its lowest price which was on 23 June 2020 at 53p when the whole market felt the worst of Covid uncertainty. From the official announcement: DWF announces new global operating structure ·    Streamlining into three global divisions of Legal Advisory, Mindcrest and Connected Services ·    New structure underpins strategic Integrated Legal Management approach ·    Accelerates global integration and supports further growth in DWF’s Mindcrest and Connected Services capabilities ·    Appointment of new […]
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New CRM purpose-built for law firms

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Specialist legal software developer, Red Rain, has announced RedView CRM, a powerful new CRM platform purpose-built for the legal industry. RedView CRM is a streamlined, ‘click light’ platform specifically targeted at time poor lawyers.  Simple to use within email software, RedView CRM captures information that flows straight to a firm’s Practice Management System. “Legal sales are all about contacts, networking and timing. If enquiries come in and aren’t handled quickly, those sales leads are lost. CRMs are the solution, but we know lawyers dislike most CRMs because they’re way too hard for them,” says Stephen Butler, CEO of Red Rain. […]
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Law firms: fast to fire, slow to hire

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Job advertisements for solicitors were still 26% below the same period as last year (November 2020 v November 2019) whereas job advertisements for ‘all occupations’ Australia-wide had risen to the extent that they were at the same level as last year. For ‘all occupations’ December 2020 was the eighth consecutive month on month increase in job advertisements which now stand 11.1% (or 17,100 advertisements) above the level recorded in December 2019. Job ads statistics provide an indication that law firms took advantage of the uncertainty to reduce staff numbers and have been much more conservative about re-hiring. Law firms and […]
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2021 Predictions: Goodbye legal tech, Al + enterprise software is the new standard

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The pandemic in 2020 impacted every single industry and the legal industry in particular experienced rapid digital transformation due to the COVID-19 stay-at-home mandates. It forced many legal teams to take a close look at their software and re-evaluate processes that are now outdated. 2021 Predictions from Eric Laughlin, CEO of Agiloft   1) Goodbye legal tech, hello enterprise software   In the digital age, contracts are no longer considered static documents. Contracts are real-time data that serves as the construction manual for an entire business. Today, it is essential for businesses to transition from solely collecting data to actively using it to gain insights and […]
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Morae Expands Asia-Pacific Business with Strategic Acquisition of Information Management Provider Trinogy

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Morae Global Corporation (“Morae”), a leading provider of digital and legal business transformation solutions for law firms, law departments, and compliance functions, has announced the expansion of the company’s Asia-Pacific operations and business with the strategic acquisition of Sydney-based information management provider Trinogy Systems PTY Ltd. (“Trinogy”). The addition of Trinogy to the Morae brand is the latest in a series of acquisitions, most recently with Janders Dean in July 2020 and Phoenix Business Solutions in May 2019. The deal adds greater momentum to Morae’s already market leading position for document management solutions in the Asia-Pacific region. Trinogy’s talented team […]
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Covid breaks law firm merger activity

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The US Experience: After a record-breaking year in 2019, US law firm merger and acquisition activity dropped 43% from a high of 115 combinations in 2019 to 65 in 2020, according to Altman Weil MergerLine. Deal flow fell off sharply in March as firms reacted to the COVID-19 crisis, but began to rebuild in the second half of the year. “Most law firms set aside strategic growth plans in the first half of the year,” says Altman Weil principal and merger advisor Tom Clay.  “But as their financial positions have stabilized, firms have begun to re-engage. We don’t expect to return […]
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PracticeEvolve acquires UK based Solicitors Own Software to continue global expansion into Mid-Tier Market

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PracticeEvolve Group has announced the acquisition of UK based Solicitors Own Software (SOS) to strengthen its global position and provide mid-tier firms a pathway to the cloud. Further to its success in Ireland and a growing reputation within the Australian legal market, PracticeEvolve continues to grow their UK client list amongst mid-tier firms. A sign of their success includes recent wins with an average 150 users per firm. Operating since 1987, SOS has delivered practice and case management software and services to law firms across the UK. With over 17,000 users and a solid client base, Graham Colbourne, Managing Director, […]
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The Small Firm Billing Problem

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by Hunter Steele* Multiple large-scale studies have shown that fee earners in small law firms are billing, on average, only 2.02 hours per day. The first time I read one of these studies, I dismissed the stats as some kind of marketing ploy. Lawyers are always talking about reaching billing targets and filling out time sheets, and the majority I speak with are working 10+ hours per day. The studies must be wrong was my assessment. After the second and third reports came out saying the same thing, I decided to dig in myself. I set about to understand two […]
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