It has been three in a row for Tauranga based software company LawVu with the company recently completing a $17 million capital fund raising exercise, its third in less than two years.
The successful exercise was managed by New York-based global equity company Insight Partners, supported by Australian company AirTree Ventures. The company had initially raised $2.5 million in convertible notes, then $17 million almost a year ago.
LawVu specialises in producing legal software for in-house corporate legal teams, and was the brainchild of local businessmen Tim Boyne and Sam Kidd.
Boyne had extensive experience working with a local law firm and had regularly become frustrated with the slow and difficult processes of tracking legal team performance and workloads.
The additional support from our existing investors shows tremendous confidence in our traction, our team, and our vision. It enables us to accelerate our international expansion and meet the ever-growing needs of customers in each region.
Company growing worldwide
The company has grown to now be in 30 countries including Australia, the US and the UK, participating in what is believed to be a $50 billion legal tech market.
The company was also named Bay of Plenty Business of the Year for 2021.
Co-founder Tim Boyne says the company has witnessed the uptake of their software accelerate in the past year.
“The additional support from our existing investors shows tremendous confidence in our traction, our team, and our vision.
“It enables us to accelerate our international expansion and meet the ever-growing needs of customers in each region,” he says.
The company’s software has been a disruptor in a market that had changed little over the years.
A survey revealed 15 percent of lawyers were tracking contractual obligations on Post-it notes, with white boards often the main means for large legal teams to keep track of their jobs and deadlines.
Clients taken on board include Australian giant telco Telstra, the company’s breakthrough client with the largest in-house legal counsel in the Southern Hemisphere.
Other clients here in New Zealand include Zespri, Fonterra, LIC, Sky and Harcourts.
One city council has reportedly saved more than 40 percent on outside legal expenditure through better management of the team it has, by using LawVu.
With 30 staff based in Tauranga, the company now has 70 staff spread around the globe with Australia among the firm’s top markets and the United States gaining strength.
James Cameron, a partner in AirTree Ventures said with an inside view on the business’s performance it was an easy decision to double down on investment.
The LawVu software consists of a unified suite of tools frequently used by legal teams, including contract templates, time management systems and e-billing processes.
The emphasis upon a user-friendly interface has seen it gain strong support within legal teams using it, say the founders.
Related: LawVu receives fund injection
