UK-based Lawhive raises €11.1M in GV-led Seed round after launching its AI lawyer ‘Lawrence’

London-based Lawhive, an online legal platform that combines artificial intelligence with a regulated law firm, announced that it has secured £9.5M (approximately €11.13M) in a Seed round of funding.

The investment was led by GV, with participation from Episode 1 Ventures. This round follows a previous £1.5M (approximately €1.75M) investment in April 2022, fueling Lawhive’s growth over the past 12 months.

Vidu Shanmugarajah, Partner at GV, says, “As a lawyer by training, I have experienced firsthand how needed technology-driven innovation is in the legal sector. Lawhive represents a transformative shift for both lawyers and consumers.”

“Through combining a feature-rich platform with groundbreaking AI, Lawhive not only dramatically improves legal workflows but also makes high-quality legal advice more accessible and affordable to a broader audience.”

“This investment underscores our belief in Lawhive’s potential to redefine the legal industry.”

“Shaping the future of legal services”

According to PWC, the UK consumer legal market, valued at around £25B, has been criticised for its high costs, complex processes, and use of jargon, which often alienates individuals and businesses.

Consequently, nearly four million individuals and one million businesses annually encounter legal issues without access to professional legal assistance. This is where Lawhive looks to make a difference.

Lawhive operates an AI-powered platform connecting lawyers with clients. The platform allows lawyers to serve their clients or be matched with consumers and small businesses through Lawhive’s marketplace.

The company, also referred to as the ‘Shopify-for-law’, was founded in 2021 by Pierre Proner, Jaime van Oers, and Flinn Dolman.

By leveraging AI technology to streamline legal processes, Lawhive delivers time savings for lawyers and cost-efficiency benefits for clients. This enables the company to address a wide range of common legal matters traditionally handled by high-street law firms.

The company collaborates with over 100 solicitors and lawyers in the UK, offering an operating system for consumer law that automates administrative tasks like KYC/AML, client onboarding, and document collection. 

This approach helps lawyers to work efficiently, focus on fulfilling work, and earn more compared to traditional high street firms.

To date, Lawhive has helped thousands of consumers with legal issues spanning family disputes, property matters, consumer rights, and small business concerns.

Lawhive’s AI lawyer

Lawhive’s platform integrates an AI lawyer named Lawrence, powered by the company’s advanced Legal Language Model (LLM), which claims to excel in legal work, surpassing other LLMs. 

Lawrence achieved 81 per cent on the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), outperforming the 55 per cent pass mark. It operates at the level of a junior lawyer or paralegal, supporting senior lawyers by handling routine tasks, and allowing them to focus on critical case aspects and client support.

Pierre Proner, CEO and co-founder of Lawhive says, “Access to the law should be a basic right, available to everyone. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case.”

“Our vision is to combine AI and best-in-class lawyers to reduce the time and cost of providing high-quality legal support, increasing access for millions of people who need it.”

“This isn’t about AI replacing humans. Our AI lawyer Lawrence is doing work that human lawyers don’t want to do and are wasting their valuable time doing.”

“AI is allowing more people to access high-quality legal help from a qualified professional at an affordable price, while also allowing some of the country’s top lawyers to work more efficiently on the parts of the law that they enjoy, and earn more money doing so,” adds Proner.

Capital utilisation

With this funding, Lawhive aims to further its goal of enhancing access to quality legal services for consumers and small businesses at an affordable cost.

The startup intends to grow its team by hiring for various roles, including AI engineers and software developers, to further enhance its platform and capabilities.