LAWTECH INNOVATION CHALLENGE

The UK’s first LawTech Innovation Challenge is currently underway in the West Midlands, bringing together law firms and tech innovators with a focus on improving client outcomes and productivity. Collaboration, openness and co-creation are at its core.

The UK’s first Innovation Challenge for the Legal Sector is under way with collaborative discussions taking place between law firms and SMEs to explore and respond to challenges in client onboarding and KYC.  

This Innovation Challenge has firmly shown that given a trusted space and specific collaboration points, law firms and tech companies can effectively work together to ensure solutions are created that truly address the day-to-day realities of legal practice

But don’t take our word for it!

“Hilary has been a guiding force for leading innovation in the West Midlands – This innovation Challenge, bringing a number of law firms and innovative technology companies together in a trusted environment is a fantastic event that will ultimately benefit our clients.” Nigel Lang CIO Fieldfisher  

By focusing on automation, AI-driven insights, and seamless system integration, this challenge has the potential to drive meaningful change for both sectors—helping law firms work more efficiently and enabling tech companies to create solutions that truly meet market needs.

SHOWCASE DATE

We are looking forward to the showcase day on July 8 - more updates on the progress of this Innovation Challenge will be available shortly after this date.

WHY SHOULD SMEs PARTICIPATE? 

  • Work Directly with Law Firms; Engage with leading legal professionals, gain insight into their onboarding challenges.

  • Test & Validate Your Technology; Demonstrate how your solution helps law firms streamline client onboarding.

  • Shape the Future of Lawtech; Contribute to industry-led innovation calls, influencing the way law firms adopt new technologies.

  • Gain Market Credibility; Being part of this challenge strengthens your position as a trusted, forward-thinking lawtech provider.

  • Expand Your Network; Join a community of legal innovators and industry leaders.

  • Collaborate & Learn; Explore, test, and experiment with new technologies in a supportive environment.

Check out our video for even more insight into this industry-first initiative; you can hear why law firms, Gateley, Mills & Reeve, Fieldfisher and Shoosmiths got involved to collaborate together, as well as the impact this Challenge has already had for the tech SME participants.

WHY DO SUPERTECH INNOVATION CHALLENGES WORK?

PARTICIPATING FIRMS

PARTICIPATING SMES

WHERE NEXT WITH INNOVATION?

CLARE STREETS, INNOVATION LEAD FOR THE CHALLENGE COMMENTS:

“Innovation Programmes are a key activity in our roadmap. This UK first LawTech Innovation Lab is a fantastic milestone that builds on the innovation activity we have been delivering over the last 4 years, in the FinTech sector and upcoming in the PropTech sector, to develop the ProfTech sector as a whole in the West Midlands.

Over the longer term, we want to bring together the various strands of FinTech, PropTech and LawTech, to look at the interoperability of technologies across the industries and ultimately strengthen the innovation capacity and capability within professional services.”

Read below for the scenarios used and key dates for this Innovation Challenge.

PROGRAMME DETAIL

    • A) How can law firms use technology to streamline the initial collection and pre-population of client data – ensuring a seamless client experience, preventing multiple manual data entries, and accelerating conflict checks without risking incomplete or inconsistent information?

    • (B) How can law firms leverage AI or advanced search methods to efficiently identify, prioritise, and clear potential conflicts of interest – reducing manual review time, minimising false positives, and providing a transparent approval process?

    • (C) How can law firms automate real-time PEP and sanctions screening across multiple jurisdictions – ensuring continuous compliance, immediate flagging of potential high-risk entities, and a clear audit trail for all checks performed?

    • (D) How can law firms provide a secure, centralised client portal for all onboarding communications and document sharing – reducing email clutter, increasing transparency, and ensuring both parties have real time visibility into the status of required information?

  • There are a number of key dates and in-person events involved in the programme. Please note them below.

    • 26th March: Information webinar for applicants to the programme

    • 4th April: Applications close

    • 9th April: SuperTech announce technology cohort for the programme

    • 11th April: Welcome webinar for technology cohort

    • 30th April: Programme Launch. In-person all day event for programme participants. Location Mills & Reeves

    • 12th-15th May: Virtual Week, law firms to present their specific challenges to technology cohort during 60-90 minute virtual meetings

    • 8th July: Showcase day. In-person all day event for all programme participants. Location TBC (Birmingham city centre)

THIS PROJECT IS PART-FUNDED BY THE WEST MIDLANDS COMBINED AUTHORITY AND THE UK GOVERNMENT THROUGH THE UK SHARED PROSPERITY FUND.

The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information visit  www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus