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Allens eyes innovation with pursuit of 7 start-ups
The international law firm has pinpointed seven legal techs and regtechs it’d like to engage further as part of its Accelerator program.
Emma Musgrave
A statement from the firm has confirmed seven start-ups have been selected as the first participants in Auctus – Allens Legal Accelerator.
At the time, the firm called for start-ups that could create solutions to two identified challenges: contract creation and management; and risk assessment and compliance.
“Solutions may include, but would not be limited to, data analytics, machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI), data management, natural language processing (NLP), application programming interfaces (API), algorithm-driven automation and reporting applications,” the firm said.
Following the launch, the program saw more than 120 applicants apply that specialise in developing solutions in document automation, smart contracts and AI-drive knowledge management over an eight-week period.
As per the statement, the seven start-ups, which span across four countries, include:
1. Avvoka
“A next-generation document automation, negotiation and analytics tool for in-house legal, law firms and business teams.”
2. BuildSort
“A smart legal contract platform initially targeting the construction sector.”
3. Hutly
“A smart contract platform that is simplifying contract management with a way for general tenancy agreements to be completed, issued, tracked, and digitally signed in minutes”.
4. Inpact
“An AI-powered enterprise software platform that turns contracts into structured, easily-analysable data to uncover new business insights.”
5. Summize
“A lightweight assistant to the contract lifecycle which creates instant, easy-to-read summaries of uploaded contract.”
6. Syntheia
“An end-to-end knowledge solution that helps to collect, manage, share and apply knowledge from documents and experts”, and
7. Wage Buddy
“A legal technology platform that simplifies Australian Fair Work Awards by analysing, interpreting and codifying Awards to facilitate automated reasoning.”
Penelope Barr, Allens’ head of legal product lab, and Steve Glaveski, chief executive of Collective Campus, noted how impressive each start-up’s offering is.
“Our first cohort of startups blew us away with the potentially transformative solutions they’re building to some of the most pressing issues faced by our firm and our clients,” Ms Barr said.
“We are excited by the potential of our first group of startups to not only add to our own legal tech offering, but to meaningfully contribute to the Australian legal landscape more broadly.”
Mr Glaveski added: “When startups stand on the shoulders of a giant like Allens, they both see further and get to their destinations faster, and I’m looking forward to watching the journey unfold with the crop of startups that were selected.”
The next phase of the Accelerator program will see the start-ups work with Allens’ staff on their legal, growth and innovation strategies “as well as attending masterclasses, testing and receiving feedback on their products from the firm, and participating in facilitated strategic introductions to Allens’ extensive networks”.
“For some startups there may be opportunities to discuss further strategic engagement with the firm or potential investors at the conclusion of the accelerator,” the firm noted.
Emma Musgrave
Emma Musgrave (née Ryan) is the managing editor, professional services at Momentum Media.
Emma has worked for Momentum Media since 2015, including five years spent as the editor of the company's legal brand - Lawyers Weekly. Throughout her time at Momentum, she has been responsible for breaking some of the biggest stories in corporate Australia. In addition, she has produced exclusive multimedia and event content related to the company's respective brands and audiences.
Prior to joining Momentum Media, Emma worked in breakfast radio, delivering news to the Central West region of NSW, before taking on a radio journalist role at Southern Cross Austereo, based in Townsville, North Queensland.
She holds a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) degree from Charles Sturt University.
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