PRESS RELEASE : Multi-million investment to turbocharge growth of technology in legal services [March 2023]
The press release issued by the Ministry of Justice on 15 March 2023.
CodeBase and Legal Geek will receive £3 million of government funding to turbocharge the development and use of technology in the legal sector.
- £3 million funding to new providers of innovative UK lawtech programme
- agreement with technology start-up incubator CodeBase, and legal tech community Legal Geek
- boost for economic growth by building on UK’s £25 billion legal services industry
The news is another boost to the UK’s thriving legal services market which is the second largest in the world, employing more than 300,000 people and worth around £25 billion to the economy.
The government-backed LawtechUK programme plays an important part in this innovation and the new providers announced today (15 March) will continue to set the country apart as a leader in emerging technologies.
CodeBase is one of the country’s largest incubators which has helped hundreds of start-ups grow and scale up. They will work with Legal Geek which runs events and programmes to connect legal businesses and the technology sector.
Together they will showcase the UK as a leading place for lawtech innovation, raising the quality of start-ups and generating industry-level views to shape the country’s lawtech agenda.
They will also build on LawtechUK’s success and further support the work of the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce, an industry-led body which promotes the use of English law alongside digital legal innovations worldwide.
Justice Minister Mike Freer said:
The UK is a world leader in delivering legal services and expertise, and our ongoing investment in new technologies will make sure we are continuing to lead the way in advances and new ways of working
CodeBase and Legal Geek bring a wealth of experience and knowledge of LawtechUK that will nurture new, cutting-edge innovation in the UK.
Stephen Coleman, OBE, CEO of CodeBase, said:
Together with our delivery partners Legal Geek, who are renowned for delivering top-tier legal events, we are eager to push the boundaries of innovation and transformation in the legal industry.
We truly believe that LawtechUK will have a significant impact on the future of the legal sector, and we feel privileged to be leading the charge in this endeavour.
Beth Fellner, Legal Geek Director, said:
We will be working in partnership with CodeBase to deliver a transformational programme of activity that will engage, inspire and educate.
Legal Geek will ensure LawtechUK develops the legal sector nationwide, equipping organisations of all sizes with the culture, expertise and confidence to innovate.
LawtechUK is a government-backed initiative, launched in 2019 when Tech Nation, a leading scale-up network and growth platform for tech companies, was tasked with incubating LawtechUK and driving its objectives forward with an initial £2 million investment. It provides resources, programmes and courses to promote new ways of delivering and accessing legal services.
LawtechUK success stories include the Lawtech Sandbox – a programme helping UK founders and legal businesses develop new products including the development of software to help businesses detect risks of potential legal disputes with stakeholders.
CodeBase and Legal Geek were awarded funding following a competition process, and will take over from Tech Nation, the firm which has delivered LawtechUK for the past 3 years. They will take over LawtechUK from 1 April 2023.
The LawtechUK programme will continue to be supported by the expert LawtechUK Panel.
