‘Lawyer Finder’ Site Lawhive Raises $40m

Lawhive, a platform that helps consumers and SMEs to find an affordable lawyer using fixed fees, has raised $40million in a Series A funding. Some of this cash will be used to accelerate its US expansion where there is ‘$1 trillion’ of unmet legal needs, they said.

The round was co-led by existing investor GV (Google Ventures) and TQ Ventures, with participation from Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1 and Premier League footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James.

The company was founded in 2019 by co-founders Pierre Proner (CEO), Jaime Van Oers (CTO), and Flinn Dolman ‘in the belief that everyone deserves affordable legal support’, they said.

The team is now focused on ‘disrupting the US legal market, where the justice gap is particularly wide. Recent figures show that 80% of US consumer legal needs are unmet, with an estimated value of $1 trillion annually’, they added.

They have also developed Lawrence, an ‘AI lawyer that automates routine legal tasks’. The company said that: ‘In tests, Lawrence has matched the performance of human lawyers and passed part one of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). This breakthrough in AI is widening access to justice and enabling lawyers to work more efficiently’.

Although, at present it’s not clear how much of any customer’s legal work Lawrence is being used on. From its website, the focus is evidently very much – for now – on helping consumers and smaller businesses to find the right lawyer for them.

Proner, CEO and co-founder of Lawhive, said: ‘Our mission is to make legal services accessible for everyone while helping consumer lawyers and small firms rediscover the joy of practicing law.

‘This funding will accelerate our US launch, where demand for faster, more affordable legal services is significant. By augmenting the work of human lawyers with our technology, we’re addressing a critical need in the US market and unlocking new opportunities for millions of US attorneys.’

One other aspect that’s of interest is the use of fixed fees – which the law firms in their network charge. Lawhive’s website also states that the prices are ‘up to 50% cheaper than High Street firms’. Fixed fees may help to support the greater use of tech – as it escapes the cage of time-based economics.

In terms of how Lawhive works, they said on their website:

‘First, our Legal Assessment Specialists will ask you questions about your legal matter to create a personalised plan and fixed-fee quote.

If you decide to go ahead and pay the fee, we will connect you to the best SRA-regulated lawyer in our network for your case within 48 hours. We’ll also give you access to our secure platform to communicate with your lawyer and share documents.

Your lawyer will then handle your case as outlined in the quote. When everything’s resolved to your satisfaction, we’ll close the case.’

Schuster Tanger, Co-Founder at TQ Ventures, added: ‘The US legal market, arguably the largest in the world, is ripe for disruption. The pressing need for affordable legal access makes it the perfect environment for innovative tech solutions like Lawhive’s. The platform is fundamentally changing how legal services are delivered, benefiting both lawyers and clients by increasing efficiency and cutting costs.’

We have of course been here before. But, can Lawhive make a difference? Perhaps if they can get all of the participating law firms to really embrace legal tech, and especially genAI, to drive down prices and push up speed of delivery, then maybe they can make an impact. The use of fixed fees is a good start.

Companies such as LegalZoom, RocketLawyer and others also help customers to find a lawyer – as well as provide standard docs – and they have indeed had a positive impact. But, addressing the vast unmet need out there will mean getting regulated law firms to really drop their prices to a level that most people can afford. Good luck to Lawhive in their endeavours.