Impact-driven startup Lawhive is on a mission to democratise access to legal services for SMEs and consumers. The London-based team has just scooped up €2 million to fuel the vision.
Getting access to legal help is something we should all have access to in a democratic and equitable society. However, there are currently many obstacles to overcome – namely cost – and quality legal services have remained the luxury of those with deeper pockets.
It’s something that founders Pierre Proner, Jaime van Oers, and Flinn Dolman discovered when they needed legal help in disputing a refused airline refund. The trio found a worrying disparity in legal access – it actually would have cost them more to get legal help than the initial cost of the flights and access to advice was firmly weighed in favour of the wealthy.
It was this experience that inspired the founders to make a difference, and so, they developed Lawhive, based on their collective background and knowledge of AI. Now, the startup has secured a capital investment to arm the mission of democratising legal services.
New funding
The €2 million seed round was led by Episode 1 Ventures and includes additional support from Tiny VC.
25 angel investors also got involved, including Aron Gelbard (Bloom & Wild Founder), Jonathan Petrides (Allplants Founder) and senior executives from Monzo, Spotify, Meta and N26.
More equitable legal help
Developed in 2021, Lawhive offers an impact-driven AI-powered legaltech platform. It combines AI with the brain power of human solicitors to automate repetitive tasks such as initial legal assessments, collecting the correct legal documents and evidence, and handling billing and compliance checks.
As a result, the platform comprises a pioneering legal knowledge graph encoding the rules of the legal system and enabling more consumers to access their legal rights. The unique combination of human lawyers and AI reduces the cost of legal services to the consumer by as much as 70% while the solicitor’s rate remains unaffected.
Thanks to automation, Lawhive also makes casework more efficient for law firms and solicitors meaning less time spent on each case and more clients helped while maintaining the expertise of regulated solicitors.
The startup is tapping into a big market, bringing a much-needed service to resource-stricken SMEs and consumers, and helping them to access their rights. The UK market for legal services is worth around €30 billion for consumers alone, but there is a lack of support and accessibility available. Last year alone, it was reported that 3.6 million consumers and 1 million SMEs had unmet legal needs. Removing the cost barrier to this could be crucial.
Pierre Proner, CEO and Co-Founder: “We believe everyone should be able to access the legal system and their legal rights – the law should be a basic utility – this is essential to a truly fair society. Through AI and automation, we’ve been able to help thousands of people who wouldn’t otherwise have had access to legal help. We are thrilled to have backing from investors who share our vision of changing the way people access the law and get legal help.”
The legal industry is one that requires expert knowledge and it is inherently hard to access for those who aren’t familiar with the jargon or have the pockets deep enough to pay through it. It’s a sector that remains difficult to understand, trust and afford and is still notorious for slow responses and heartstopping costs that often exceed the value of a claim – the common perception is that legal advice is only available to the wealthy or those who qualify for dwindling state-funded legal aid.
Lawhive is aiming to radically transform the space and is aiming to remove these barriers to entry through its simplicity, clarity and efficiency. The end-to-end legal journey, including all comms with human lawyers, takes place through the Lawhive app with complete transparency on all stages and costs. As we enter a cost-of-living crisis and period of belt-tightening for consumers and small businesses, having access to the law in an affordable way has never been more important.
Hector Mason, Partner at Episode 1 Ventures: “We believe that by using cutting-edge AI, Lawhive can transform the way legal work is carried out for consumers and SMEs who are often most in need of but lack adequate legal assistance. We’re excited to have backed this world-class team disrupting a huge market.”
