The technology landscape is continuously evolving. Businesses are investing in software and computer programmes that speed up and simplify all information processes. But what does that mean specifically for the legal landscape we operate in? Legal tech is the answer to that question. It provides legal information and knows and recognises documentation — and it does so day after day, seven days a week. In other words, it offers a unique opportunity to lawyers and corporate legal teams.
There are already quite a few applications on the market today, and going by the overview of the various subsectors (see below), we can conclude that Wolters Kluwer offers a solution to pretty much every problem. That said, Larcier is a major player too, mainly focusing on the acquisition of new businesses taking their first steps on the legal tech market. Figures from 2021 show that Germany and the UK are the biggest players when it comes to raising investment in legal tech. In Belgium, we’re mainly seeing small startups in this sector, many of which are being taken over by larger holdings (Wolters Kluwer (NL), Editions Lefebvre Sarrut (FR)). And that leads us neatly to Agio Capital: after all, one of the services Agio offers is support with these acquisitions. Agio does so by assisting the startups in question during this type of deal, or by charting the startup landscape on behalf of holding companies. Agio Capital strongly believes in the power of technology to increase internal efficiency and improve the customer experience. Thanks to the hands-on experience Agio Legal possesses, having seen many of these technologies at work first hand, Agio Capital is an especially relevant partner in these types of transactions.
The main players in legal tech:
The legal tech field can be broken down into four subsectors: management, legal services, legal tech services and legal content.
- Management mainly involves software to store documents and manage and sign contracts, as well as invoicing, timekeeping and diary solutions.
- Legal services offers services online that have historically been extremely time-consuming; examples include debt collection via websites or reclaiming money in aviation, filing for divorce and so on.
- Legal tech services involve platforms that match lawyers with those needing legal assistance, recruitment platforms and information exchange platforms. This subsector also includes legal tech design, advice on digital innovation and the development of specific tools.
- Legal news brings together various legal news channels, legal research involves platforms that gather, analyse and categorise legal data, regulations, jurisprudence and doctrine — and that occasionally utilise these via artificial intelligence. Together, these subsectors are referred to as legal content.
