"Although the legal sector has shown certain reluctance to embrace innovation, and it lags behind if we compare it to other industries, in the last two years legaltech has experienced significant growth", said Dean Javier de Cendra.
Esquify, winner of the US Leg, competed against five other finalists, all women-led companies, including deal management software Doxly (backed by Dentons’ Nextlaw Ventures and quite well known in the US), pro bono law platform Paladin, Bite Size Legal, Determinator and HAKA. Having such an excellent group of selected startups competing in this first Global Legaltech Venture Days is proof that legaltech entrepreneurs in the industry are focused on how they could help drive law forward through technology. The technologies brought by these start-ups aim at reducing bureaucracy in sales and purchases, reducing costs in document reviewing, coordinating the pro-bono initiatives carried out in law firms, providing information about the expiry date of a patent, and even using cryptocurrencies in social litigation funding.
The winner will be awarded a residence programme powered by the IE School and ONTIER, especially crafted and customised to suit the needs of the selected start-up. The winner will be provided with IE's and ONTIER's consultancy and support so that the team can develop their project and make it suitable for the needs of today's market. In order to achieve this, start-ups will be pitching their projects before a jury comprising legal and innovation experts, as well as leaders in large companies who will assess each project's characteristics and viability.
Read the article published in Expansión Jurídico