Fancy a trip Down Under? Then check out the Lander & Rogers LawTech Hub incubator, which is looking for applicants for its fifth cohort. Local and international companies can join the in-person and virtual programme.
The incubator will kick off in the second quarter of 2022 and for those attending in-person there will be opportunities to engage with the firm in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane.
Lander & Rogers is probably not the most well-known Aussie commercial law firm, but it’s been steadily growing and now has 550 people, including 79 partners. Its key sectors are: Government, Insurance & Financial Services, Real Estate, Retail & Supply Chain and Technology.
But, back to the incubator. Over six months the chosen cohort ‘will solve real legal and business challenges using emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, smart contracts, and process automation. The startups will also have access to the networks, experience, and expertise of the firm’ they said.
Here’s a graphic showing what it offers:
The firm also noted that several successful legal tech companies have been through its incubator, including no-code platform Josef, global networking and referral platform NEXL, blockchain-based smart contracts startup, beNEXT, and cloud-optimised data synchronisation platform, Syncly – although the latter two are perhaps not so well-known over here.
They also pointed out that another alumnus, FamilyProperty, was bought by legal practice management software business Smokeball in 2021. And London’s Avvoka, which has also had a long residency at Allen & Overy’s FUSE, joined the Hub in 2021.
For companies outside of Australia who might be thinking about joining this year, one important aspect is whether the world’s largest island, which is home to some truly amazing marsupials, is going to be a place where you will win new business.
The short answer is that Australia has a vibrant legal tech ecosystem, with home-grown companies ranging from eDiscovery, e.g. Nuix; to data governance, e.g. Ansarada; to no-code platforms, e.g. Josef; to spend management, e.g. Lawcadia; and there’s plenty more as well. The market is generally receptive to innovation and there are a number of major firms, both local and international. In fact, Allen & Overy has just launched its second legal delivery centre in Oz.
Moreover, if you are interested in building out your client base in the Asia-Pacific region, then Australia is certainly one of a number of sensible places to start. Although Singapore would also be a strong contender for your strategic focus. But, hey….why not focus on building clients in both if you are heading out there?
Meanwhile, Lander & Rogers’ Chief Executive Partner, Genevieve Collins, concluded: ‘Innovation is key to delivering the best law firm experience for our clients, in the services we deliver and in the way we deliver them. I am incredibly proud of what we have achieved in building the first LawTech Hub in Australia, connecting startups and scaleups with our people, clients, industry partners, the courts and other law firms.’
If you fancy spending some time in Oz in-person, (or instead if you want to do it virtually and would like to spend some more time on Zoom calls), then check out the link here.
P.S. the firm added in a note to Artificial Lawyer: ‘We don’t take any equity.’ So, no pressure on that side of things.