UK Legal Tech Association (UKLTA) Launches with Fifteen Members

The legal tech association for the UK (UKLTA) launched last week at the first Legal Technology North Conference, with over fifteen members joining the ranks within 24 hours.

Membership consists of a diverse range of companies with an interest in the legal sector, including law firms, barristers’ chambers, technology companies and specialist conveyancing regulator the Council for Licensed Conveyancers.

Matt Pennington, Managing Director of Tonic Works and co-founder of the UKLTA commented:

“We founded the UKLTA in order to create a space where law firms, tech companies and other players in the legal sector can collaborate to help shape the future of legal services delivery. Members will work together through demo days, collaborative groups and legal technology education.”

Matt continues:

“Earlier in the year I had a great conversation with Stevie Ghiassi of ALTA (Australian Legal Technology Association), and heard about the success they have had by forming their community and the engagement their demo days have received. I hope that through the UKLTA we can replicate some of that success for the UK market”.

When asked how UKLTA fits with the other associations out there, Matt commented:

“The UKLTA is not a trade association, we are interested in being inclusive to anyone who wants to move the delivery of legal services in the UK forward through better use of technology. Our door is open to all – be it law firms, tech companies, regulators, interest groups, government agencies, trade associations or individuals who want to make a difference”.

UKLTA intends to form a number of collaborative groups to improve delivery of legal services – each group focussing on a specific challenge or area of law. The groups currently under formation are Conveyancing, Litigation and Dispute Resolution and Private Client Legal Services.

Harvey Harding, Managing Director of PM Property Lawyers and co-founder of the UKLTA commented:

“Through the UKLTA we want to move the delivery of legal services along by getting people who really want to make a difference in the same room at the same time. The collaborative groups will, amongst other things, allow tech companies to test solutions with willing law firms who may in some cases be on opposite sides of a transaction. We hope that by inviting the regulators to get involved too, we will be able to make best use of sandboxes when the need arises also.”

Applications to join the UKLTA are now fully open, with membership rates available from the website www.uklta.org.uk. The association’s roadmap is to elect a committee early in the new year, and hold the first round of demo days and collaborative group meet-ups early in the second quarter of 2019.

Kindly shared by UKLTA