Allen & Overy (A&O) has agreed to fully license and roll out Avvoka’s contract lifecycle platform across its global network, in a massive win for the 2016-founded startup – a win that is being credited in large part to Avvoka’s involvement in A&O’s tech innovation space Fuse.
Avvoka was founded by former lawyers David Howorth and Eliot Benzecrit. On joining Fuse in September 2017 the pair further developed their existing technology in collaboration with A&O lawyers from across multiple jurisdictions and practice groups.
Speaking about licensing the technology, Shruti Ajitsaria, head of Fuse said: “Fuse’s primary purpose is to allow our lawyers to engage meaningfully with new technologies. Our decision to license Avvoka’s technology is driven by A&O lawyer demand, which shows the enthusiasm that our lawyers have for working in a client-centric way.”
Kevin Oliver, head of advanced delivery for technology, commented: “Document automation and collaboration technologies are not new to the legal industry but Avvoka have looked at the challenges faced by lawyers and their clients and have designed a product that manages the contract lifecycle in a holistic way.”
Howorth said: “In a competitive legal tech space, being able to work with the experts at A&O has given us a distinct advantage. A&O has fully embraced our product and allowed us to ensure our product appeals to those that would benefit most from it. Being housed in Fuse has meant that we’ve been able to test and create products with lawyer input, and we look forward to continue working with them.”