UK Legal Technology Association Launch In Sheffield

The legal technology association for the UK (UKLTA) launched in Sheffield last week at the first Legal Technology North Conference, with over 15 members joining the ranks within the first 24 hours.

The membership has a huge range of businesses with an interest in the legal sector, including law firms, barristers’ chambers, technology companies and specialist conveyancing regulator the Council for Licenced Conveyancers.

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

“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 continued:

“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 Matt was asked about how UKLTA fit with the other associations out there, he said:

“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”.

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

The 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.”

The Association’s plan is to elect a committee by early next year and hold it’s first round of demo days and collaborative groups by the second quarter of 2019.