Australia's first LawTech Hub continues to gain momentum, with founders Lander & Rogers and YBF Ventures signing a new deal that will see its cutting-edge program renewed for another two years.
Based out of both YBF Melbourne and YBF Sydney, the LawTech Hub houses and nurtures Australian legaltech startups and scaleups. Current residents and alumni include 6Clicks, Anika Legal, beNext, Caseflow, DocAssist, Elker, Evenor, Family Property, Josef, LARA, Legal Tech Helper, Mitimes, NEXL, Paycheque and TA Law.
Lander & Rogers and YBF launched the LawTech Hub in April 2019 in response to technology changing the legal landscape and the need for innovation throughout the industry. As organisations shift to accommodate the global pandemic and law firms modify their ways of working to meet clients' evolving requirements, innovation in the legaltech space is more important than ever.
By renewing their partnership in delivering Australia's first legal-focused tech hub, Lander & Rogers and YBF are committing to driving further change and innovation in the legaltech industry. Their newly-inked partnership extends the LawTech Hub's runway for a further two years and will work with dozens of Australia's leading legaltech startups and scaleups to develop and refine their products.
Genevieve Collins, Chief Executive Partner of Lander & Rogers said: "We're excited to continue our partnership with YBF. We've worked with some exceptional startups in the LawTech Hub in the last two years and I look forward to welcoming our next cohort in the New Year. By promoting collaboration and knowledge sharing between legaltech innovators and legal professionals, we're responding in real time to the industry's growing demand for digitisation and automation tools for better service delivery."
The hub intakes new legaltech startups and scaleups working in blockchain, artificial intelligence (AI), smart contracts, predictive analytics, automation and robotics and smart connectivity platforms. The hub provides participants with dedicated space to work alongside and collaborate with other legaltech entrepreneurs; access to Lander & Rogers' legal and business experts; introductions to potential clients, partners, investors and the wider tech community; and the opportunity to pilot products and receive feedback from practising lawyers.
The LawTech Hub does not take equity from participating companies, affording them leverage necessary to raise capital and attract talent. YBF's CEO, Farley Blackman said, "We are thrilled to continue the LawTech Hub with Lander & Rogers and to propel the legaltech space forward in Australia. The hub is not only an alignment on technology and innovation, but an alignment on multiple key values. Growth across all industries is important as we recover post-COVID-19, and to be able to support the entrepreneurial legaltech ecosystem, without taking equity from the startups and scaleups, will enable greater growth as we enter 2021."
Fiona Kirkman, CEO & Co-founder of FamilyProperty – a startup currently in the LawTech Hub, said: "Over the last year, FamilyProperty has had the benefit of being part of the Lander & Rogers LawTech Hub at YBF. During this time, we have enjoyed the startup atmosphere of the YBF tech and innovation hub, centrally located in the Sydney CBD, and the mentorship of an awesome group of people who have helped us grow FamilyProperty significantly! A big thanks to the Lander & Rogers team and to YBF."
Noel Lim, CEO, Co-founder & Director of Anika Legal said: "Being part of the Lander & Rogers LawTech Hub at YBF has been incredible. YBF has always been extremely accommodating of the unpredictable, crazy co-working needs of our startup; their sensitivity to what entrepreneurs need has allowed Anika to focus solely on what's most important when running a startup. It was so reassuring to find that this understanding carried on during the pandemic; it allowed Anika to focus on the crisis and provide 220 vulnerable tenants with the free, online legal assistance they needed."
