Legal services and LawTech bolstered with £2 million of government funding

4 Jun 2019 12:34 PM

Just over £2 million has been committed by the government to help embrace the opportunities of LawTech, drive innovation and help the UK legal sector grow.

The UK is the second largest legal services market in the world, worth around £25 billion to the economy with more than 300,000 people employed in the sector, and a leading global legal centre.

Entrepreneurs, academics, and legal services providers are starting to develop new technology to modernise the sector and improve the UK’s productivity, and the government is committed to supporting this activity and encouraging law firms to utilise emerging technology even further.

Justice Secretary David Gauke, yesterday said

Technology promises to be a key component in the success of our legal services sector and this funding will help support emerging LawTech in the UK and wider economic growth.

We are home to some of the best law firms in the world, globally renowned courts and a wealth of legal talent. Through the effective use of technology, we can help the sector advance and continue to lead globally.

More than 200 international firms, from more than 40 jurisdictions, have chosen to base themselves here and English and Welsh law is the most commonly used in international business and dispute resolution.

Notes to editors

LawTech

LawTech refers to new legal technologies which aim to support, supplement or replace traditional methods for the delivery of legal services. In 2018 the LawTech sector was valued at $15.9 billion globally.

LawTech Delivery Panel

Announced by the Lord Chancellor in July 2018, the LawTech Delivery Panel is industry-led and government supported. The Panel promotes and champions the use of technology in the UK’s legal sector, by identifying both barriers to and catalysts for growth and adoption. The Panel aims to provide direction to the legal sector, help foster innovation and create an environment in which new technology and the UK’s fledgling LawTech community can thrive.

The Panel brings together industry, government, academia, judiciary, regulators and the legal technology community to address challenges and seize opportunities related to regulation, investment and funding, education and skills, legal framework and UK jurisdiction, commercial disputes resolution and ethics.

Further information on the work of the Panel can be found on the Law Society website.