Research: Market opportunity for lawtech to address SME’s unmet legal needs

At LawtechUK we undertook research with the Legal Services Board (the oversight regulator to the various legal services regulators in England and Wales), into how small and medium size businesses consume legal services and the relevance of lawtech to their needs. Previous research we had undertaken showed SMEs could save £8.6bn in costs by using lawtech. The research revealed a gap in the market for lawtech firms to support SMEs with legal issues better than they are served today by traditional means, as well as an opportunity for lawtechs and law firms to collaborate to offer affordable, best in class services bespoke to SMEs.

I was quoted in the publication launch as saying:

“SMEs make up 99% of all UK businesses and 60% of jobs, and are fundamental to our communities, yet too often they end up ‘going it alone’ when it comes to legal issues. Owners of SMEs are often time poor and accessing legal services is seen as too hard, too expensive and a low priority compared to the list of pressures they face running their business.

“Speaking to SMEs, they point to a clear role for lawtech, giving them access to legal support that is timely, affordable, convenient and reassuring - and, importantly, that increases their resilience over time. The debate is often framed around technology replacing existing services, but our research shows that lawtech offers new opportunities for legal service providers to meet the unmet needs of SMEs and make many people’s lives easier in the process.

“For lawtech innovators, our research shows that the SME market is one where transformative legal products can thrive, and support the tens of thousands of SMEs in need of their assistance.”

The infographic of the opportunities to serve SMEs through lawtech is here

The full research report is here.