New investment to boost growth of technology in legal services

The Ministry of Justice announced on 15 March that funding has been awarded to two new providers, CodeBase and Legal Geek, of the LawtechUK programme, which aims to support the transformation of the UK legal sector through technology.

The consortium has been awarded £3 million in funding by the Ministry of Justice following the completion of a competitive bidding process. The two new providers aim to build on LawtechUK’s success and support the ongoing work of the industry-led body that promotes the use of English law alongside digital legal innovations, otherwise known as the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce. LawtechUK supported the recent legal statement on digital securities issued by the Jurisdiction Taskforce.

Code Base is a technology ecosystem support organisation that provides support to startups and enables collaboration on tech innovation. Legal Geek, which was founded in 2015, is a global community of legal and lawtech professionals, with events organised to connect legal businesses and the technology sector.

CodeBase and Legal Geek will take over the government-backed LawtechUK initiative from 1 April 2023, replacing Tech Nation, which has delivered LawtechUK for the past three years. Tech Nation was appointed as incubator of LawtechUK following its launch in 2019 and has been responsible for LawtechUK’s successes to date, which includes the launch of the Lawtech Sandbox to help legal businesses develop new and innovative products. Since its launch, LawtechUK, has made significant progress in its mission to create a leading lawtech ecosystem, supporting over 100 lawtech startups through the Lawtech Sandbox.

Commenting on the announcement, 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.”