Legaltech player LawAdvisor launches new products developed with Barclays and raft of top law firms

Legaltech startup LawAdvisor is launching two new SaaS solutions that aim to make it easier for corporates to procure legal services and improve how legal teams manage projects and work with stakeholders.

The startup, which is backed by Google Maps cofounder Lars Rasmussen, developed the tools with a steering group helmed by Barclays and composed of law firms including Bird & Bird, Simmons & Simmons, Allen & Overy, Paul Hastings and Ashurst.  

The first offering, LegalEye, is designed for in-house teams to secure legal services more easily. By focusing on streamlining interactions and facilitating knowledge sharing within the industry, the new platform enables smoother partnerships between firms and in-house lawyers. The core idea is to create “an ecosystem for sharing, collaboration, insights and diversity.”

The second, Fibonacci, is a legal project management system that provides legal teams with fresh ways to tackle day-to-day tasks across the board, including automating admin and improving communication with different stakeholders all from one suite.

Fibonacci is a ‘no-code’ management system, meaning that it can be customised in-house to meet the needs of different teams. LawAdvisor founder and CEO Brennan Ong, a former lawyer, describes this feature as the startup’s “claim to fame”, as it allows corporate and legal departments to efficiently harness their unique know-how in ways off-the-shelf products cannot.

The decision to work with a steering group stemmed from the fact that the term ‘legal project management’ is still relatively new. Speaking with the Robotics Law Journal, Ong explained that by working with Barclays and multiple law firms, the group was able to work on defining a comprehensive industry standard for the practice of legal project management and grow from there.

“Barclays has been a leading innovator among corporate legal departments for many years, and the expertise now ingrained in the platform is a testament to Barclays’ advanced external engagement and panel firm management processes, which all legal teams will soon be able to benefit from,” Ong commented. The bank is in the process of onboarding six of the firms on its legal panel to LegalEye and aims to onboard the rest in March.

Bird & Bird is already using Fibonacci to “great effect”, having played a role in the platform’s development.

“The legal sector has been crying out for new technology solutions that are both effective and not proprietary to any one firm. That’s exactly what LawAdvisor has built,” David Kerr, CEO at Bird & Bird, said.

“They have a clear vision of how technology can transform the way we practice law, and crucially the legal and software expertise to realise that vision.”

Late last year, the startup moved its headquarters from Australia to the UK with the goal of broadening its share of the international legaltech market.