June 16, 2025 -- Issue #345
Hi, Charlie Uniman here, host of Legal Tech StartUp Focus ("LTSF"), the online community for everyone involved with legal tech startups. You're reading the latest digest of articles, opinion pieces, and other thoughts posted during the past week at the community.
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Conferences and Other Events
◾ From ALSP Factor
“We’re delighted to invite you to an exclusive briefing with the creators of Sensemaker Academy, Factor's new AI upskilling programme specifically designed for lawyers.
“Join Factor’s Chris DeConti with special guests including, Dan Hunter, Executive Dean, The Dickson Poon School of Law at King's College London, and Peter Duffy, CEO & Founder, TITANS, live in London to explore:
“Safe-to-fail simulations with real legal use cases
“A step-by-step curriculum covering AI mindset,
interaction, reasoning models, and implementation
“Skill-building frameworks tailored for all legal practice areas”
More information about this invitation-only event, including a link to request for your invite, here: https://www.factor.law/events/unlock-ai-proficiency-for-legal-teams
Fundraising
◾ From Legaltech News:
"On Tuesday, Laurel, a provider of AI-powered timekeeping services for law and accounting firms, announced it has raised a $100 million series C funding round. Led by venture capital firm IVP, the new round features participation from Google Ventures, as well as new investors including 01.a, DST Global and Alexis Ohanian, and returning investors including ACME and Anthos.
Laurel was founded in San Francisco as Ping in 2016, and raised a $13.2 million dollar series Aled by Upfront Ventures in 2019 after participating in British law firm Mischon de Reya’s legal tech startup incubator, MDR lab."
More here: https://bit.ly/43DnXo3
◾ Legaltech News reports:
"On Tuesday, contract automation provider Ontra announced that it closed a $70 million financing round led by Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), a division of First Citizens Bank."
Legal tech fundraising/investing is "on fire." https://bit.ly/4mW5oms
Investing
◾ Legal IT Insider reporting:
"In a European legal AI deal to watch, litigation research and analytics vendor Doctrine has entered the German market through a strategic investment in legal case law information provider dejure.org. The investment, which we’re told is made with a view to a full acquisition, marks a key step in Doctrine’s international expansion, adding to its presence and capability in France and Italy."https://bit.ly/4kAOQyT
JusticeTech/A2J
◾ Legaltech News sharing some wonderful A2J news:
"On Thursday, U.S.-based pro bono management platform Paladin announced that in collaboration with 30 law schools, it is developing a pro bono platform for law schools and their students that will be launched in the fall.
"The platform aims to help law schools students find and track pro bono legal opportunities as well as provides detailed data reports for law schools to view their students' progress. The platform also allows students to log their hours and experiences in one place as a way for them to build a portfolio they could then show to future employers."
Much more in the full article (including the list of participating law schools - there should be more schools on the list, I say): https://bit.ly/4jGdm05
Member Introductions/Questions
◾ New community member, Sema Kurt, introduces herself: " # Three years ago, I boarded a plane to the United States with no English, no roadmap, and no idea where this journey would take me—only a dream and a deep belief in hard work.
"I grew up in a small village in Konya, Türkiye. Opportunities were limited, but I studied relentlessly, eventually becoming a licensed attorney and practicing law for six years across family, corporate, and criminal matters. That life alone could have been enough—but I knew there was more I wanted to explore.
"In 2021, I took a leap of faith and came to America. The transition was difficult—new language, new culture, and no clear direction. What I did have were people who believed in me: mentors, friends, and my husband, Slater. They reminded me of the power of possibility.
"Fast forward to today: I’ve just earned my LL.M. in Business and Corporate Law from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. It’s the proudest moment of my life.
"But something shifted in me during this journey. I no longer see myself returning to the courtroom. Instead, I’ve fallen in love with the intersection of law and technology—how legal operations, automation, and platforms like CLM tools are reshaping the profession.
"Legal tech excites me because it aligns with everything I value: efficiency, innovation, and scalable impact. I want to be part of the wave that’s changing how law is practiced—from the inside out.
I’m now exploring opportunities in legal tech and legal operations where I can bring my legal training, global perspective, and relentless drive to a forward-thinking team.
"But more than just finding a role, I’m eager to learn—from the brilliant people in this community, from your experiences, and from the challenges you’re solving. I hope to contribute where I can, but also to grow alongside others who are equally passionate about this space.
"If you’re working on something exciting, have advice to share, or even just want to connect—I would be truly grateful. Thank you to everyone who has been part of this journey so far. It’s just the beginning, and I’m so excited to be here with all of you.
"If you’d like to reach out, here’s my contact information: 📧 semaakurt7@gmail.com"
LinkedIn profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sema-kurt/
Partnerships/Business Development
◾ Partnerships, product developments, new hires (and more) comprise this past week’s legal tech rundown from Legaltech News:
https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2025/06/13/legaltech-rundown-relativity-announces-collection-for-google-gemini-eve-launches-client-intake-voice-agents-and-more/
Product Development
◾ From the LawSites blog at LawNext:
"Eve, an AI platform for plaintiffs’ law firms, today announced the beta launch of its AI Intake Specialist, an AI-powered intake feature that the company says will transform how plaintiffs’ law firms capture and qualify potential clients." https://bit.ly/4dYbA9r
◾ Draftwise hops aboard the agentic AI train, as reported by Legaltech Hub:
"On Wednesday, AI-powered contract drafting and review platform DraftWise announced the launch of an AI agent to handle drafting, review, and search tasks at scale. The goal of the new agentic offering is to streamline contracting workflows “by functioning as a digital associate that takes unstructured legal intent and directly produces contract language, revisions, and analysis in Microsoft Word,” according to the press release."https://www.legaltechnologyhub.com/contents/draftwise-launches-agentic-ai-associate-for-contract-work/
Purchasing/Using Legal Tech
◾ A link to a most interesting LinkedIn post from J. Michael Dockery.
$$Quotes:
“Here's an interesting read from Daniel Schwarcz, Debarati Das, Dongyeop Kang and Brett McDonnell: "Thinking Like a Lawyer in the Age of Generative AI: Cognitive Limits on AI Adoption Among Lawyers"
“This commentary arises from prior studies that demonstrated that the use of AI could improve both the speed and quality of a lawyer's work in many tasks - and, more specifically, the single exception to this general conclusion: The one task where AI improved neither speed nor quality was the drafting of a corporate document (an NDA).
“The core observation was that, despite this key exception to the general finding, all of the participants in the study THOUGHT that AI had improved their speed and quality across ALL tasks, even this NDA task. Meaning, it's not really clear that law students, at least, can accurately gauge the effect of AI on their own work product.
“I think this core observation is related to an observation I've heard from law firm leaders in summarizing their experiences with legal chatbots. "It's great for senior attorneys, but we're scared to death to give it to our juniors, because the output can be completely wrong and yet utterly convincing in a way that junior lawyers won't be able to pick up on." (I'm not going to name names on the tool at issue here, except to say it was NOT Marveri!)”
More at the following link. https://www.linkedin.com/posts/j-michael-dockery-617b877_heres-an-interesting-read-from-daniel-schwarcz-activity-7337824116579741696-x2f5?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAAACjKkUBuYvfoBWwBGd7KKABZw3jrdiBcc0
◾ From Joel Bijlmer: "Haven’t heard about Legora’s $80M Series B funding yet? You might be the last. With its humble beginnings in a Nordic law firm basement, Legora is now transforming how over 250 legal teams work, by embedding AI directly into the way lawyers think, draft, research, and collaborate.
We recently touched base with Legora's CEO, Max Junestrand, who shared valuable insights into the development of Legora within the legal tech environment then and now. As Max puts it, Legora aims to supercharge lawyers with technology, which is becoming essential for firms looking to stay ahead in a fast-evolving market.
Read the full article here: https://thelegalwire.ai/legoras-quiet-power-the-collaborative-ai-reshaping-legal-work/
◾ From Legaltech News:
The headline reads - "Legal departments see gaping digital divide, as some spend nothing on tech and others spend more and more."
$$Quote: "Legal teams in the U.S. are feeling the strain of day-to-day operations. Most respondents reported that contract and entity management—core pillars of legal operations—are handled in-house. Yet the methods vary widely—just 42% use dedicated contract lifecycle management software, while a third still rely on shared drives like Google Drive and SharePoint. Thirteen percent manage contracts with no structured system at all." https://bit.ly/4kXLjdK
◾ Legal Tech StartUp Focus Podcast Show Notes -- How Israeli Law Firms Are Reshaping Legal Practice with Legal Tech
Israel's innovation powerhouse isn't just transforming cybersecurity and consumer tech—it's also transforming the delivery of legal services through technological advancement. In this fascinating conversation with Idan Sivan, CTO at Fisher Law Firm and founder of the LawIT Forum, and Omri Rahum-Tweg, partner and co-head of the firm's law and technology practice, we explore how Israeli legal tech is developing at lightning speed.
What makes the Israeli legal tech ecosystem special? For starters, the geographic intimacy allows startups to establish beta testing partnerships with law firms far more efficiently than in markets like the US. As Idan explains, "The market is small, the activity is small, so it's easier to gain access and to work together with law firms as a vendor." This creates a powerful advantage: Israeli legal tech companies can more often refine their products through real-world testing without the lengthy sales cycles that plague startups elsewhere.
Particularly fascinating is how Fisher approaches change management across generational divides. While senior partners might not personally use every new technology, they've strategically empowered tech-savvy team members to drive implementation. This pragmatic delegation has accelerated adoption throughout the organization, allowing the firm to implement AI tools across multiple practice areas—from automated contract analysis to sophisticated due diligence capabilities that can extract substantive issues from thousands of documents.
When discussing "agentic AI"—the concept of AI systems that can make decisions and complete complex workflows with minimal human intervention, both guests advocate for a balanced approach: identifying appropriate use cases while recognizing technology's current limitations. As Omri notes, "You have to be very picky and very careful and very mindful of the use cases you choose to select for this specific goal." Idan adds the crucial reminder that firms must "slow down a little bit ... you cannot talk about agentic AI and automations of legal processes if your lawyers haven't been trained for the basics."
Whether you're a legal practitioner curious about technology's frontier, an investor considering the legal tech market, or simply interested in how traditional professions evolve, this episode offers valuable insights into one of legal innovation's most dynamic ecosystems.
Link to episode: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2454829/episodes/17318936
◾ From Legaltech News:
“The use of artificial intelligence in arbitration may have lagged other legal fields like contracting or e-discovery, but that’s no longer the case. Recent years have seen ADR providers like the AAA and JAMS launch their own gen AI tools and collaborations, while new startups promise to revolutionize the field with fully digital decision-making.”
Excellent survey of AI and arbitration here: https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2025/06/11/ai-is-taking-over-arbitration-but-how-far-can-it-go/
◾ From Legaltech News:
"Linklaters’ alternative legal services provider Re:link is expanding into the Middle East, a region undergoing a significant economic change as it redefines its future beyond traditional oil revenues.
"Re:link is not an AI model. Instead, it connects clients with lawyers approved by Global 200 firm Linklaters to meet temporary legal resourcing needs, offering access to lawyers on a flexible basis. The platform also offers consultants project-based work with greater autonomy, reflecting the broader shift in how legal services are delivered and staffed." https://bit.ly/441oVcn
Startup Management
◾ Here's a link to an article on X about "taste" in SaaS app building. It's a long article, but oh so worth reading.
It's written by Sarah Guo, a former Greylock partner, now a founder and investor at VC firm Conviction. After reading the article, let me know if you think most SaaS startups (particularly, of course, those building legal tech products) can afford to be "tasteful" (or perhaps you'll say they can't afford not to be tasteful). Please also let me know in the comments what legal tech startups, in your opinion, show "taste" (as Sarah defines it, or as you otherwise define it). Enjoy!
H/T to Zach Abramowitz for alerting me to Sarah's article. https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/taste-sarah-guo-u9qcf
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