Dentons is to invest in and test new technology from around the world under a newly-launched venture called NextLaw Labs.
NextLaw Labs, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dentons, will focus on developing and investing in new products, services and fledgling technology companies, with the ambitious goal to “transform the practice of law.”
The plan is for NextLaw Labs to develop a suite of technologies using Dentons lawyers as a global testing ground for new products. Dentons is set to become the biggest law firm in the world, housing around 6,600 lawyers, after it announced in January that it is to merge with China’s largest law firm, Dacheng,
NextLaw Labs is spearheaded by Dan Jansen, who has been hired in as its chief executive officer and who most recently founded and ran Los Angeles-headquartered alternative advertising and online sponsorship business Virtual Greats.
Jansen, who previously led the global media practice for the Boston Consulting Group and worked with Arthur Young & Company advising start-ups, said: “We are looking for startups, entrepreneurs, VC’s, established vendors—anyone who wants to join our innovation ecosystem and work together to build and bring to market new products and services, whether through direct investments in existing companies or by building our own suite of services within NextLaw Labs.”
Dentons’ global chairman, Joe Andrew added: “We don’t just want to be the world’s largest law firm, we want to transform the legal profession, drive innovation in legal services and bring clients what they want with better quality, more responsiveness and greater value.”
The move by Dentons follows an earlier announcement by Hogan Lovells that it will invest in technology research and the launch by Riverview Law of its own technology business.