Lexoo, a legal tech start-up matching UK SMEs and entrepreneurs with handpicked lawyers, has raised a further $1.3 (£843k) million in funding, taking total funding to over $1.7 million. The new funding round was led by Forward Partners and follows an earlier $400,000 investment in January. Other prominent investors include Jonathan McKay (chairman of Just Giving), Duncan Jennings (founder of Vouchercodes), Tim Jackson (Lean Investments), Robin Grant (founder of We Are Social) and the London Co-Investment Fund.
Lexoo will use the funds to expand sales and marketing activities and strengthen its operations and technology. Since launching in July 2014, Lexoo has grown over 25% month on month and is currently processing over $1.5m in legal work annually. “This funding round gives us the opportunity to further accelerate our growth and help thousands more businesses find the lawyer that’s right for them,” said Lexoo CEO Daniel van Binsbergen.
The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “London’s tech and science sector is flourishing and the city is a hotbed of talented and ambitious people buzzing with exciting ideas who are setting up new companies in their droves. I am delighted that the London Co-Investment Fund is helping companies like Lexoo to make their ideas a reality and deliver jobs and growth for the capital.”
Lexoo enables businesses to get multiple quotes from a curated line-up of lawyers, for free. After posting a job, businesses receive between three to four quotes (usually fixed fee) within hours from screened lawyers with expertise in the relevant legal area. And because Lexoo mostly works with lawyers who run virtual practices – without the overheads of larger law firms – businesses on average save 46% on legal fees.
“The country’s legal services market is worth £29bn and so far has widely avoided the disruptive impact of the digital revolution,” said Binsbergen. “However the landscape is changing, with demand for online services set to rise by up to 37% over the next five years.”
“Until now engaging a lawyer has been an intimidating prospect for entrepreneurs, who’ve tended to hire via a combination of personal connections and searching Google. But going down this route doesn’t answer the two key problems faced by business owners – making sure they’re paying a fair price and finding a lawyer with the right experience. We remove these challenges by supplying a selection of lawyers with relevant expertise and providing price transparency through multiple competitive quotes.”
Additional information:
– launched in July 2014 Lexoo is an on-demand, digital marketplace connecting SMEs with lawyers
– among the 3,500 businesses to use its free service are Orangefield, Makers Academy, YPlan, Velocity Mobile, Lost My Name, Hello Fresh and Entrepreneur First
– about London Co-Investment Fund (LCIF): LCIF is backed by the Mayor of London and managed by Funding London with support from Capital Enterprise.