By Legal Futures Associate Legl
2022 saw both some major business milestones as well as the release of a wide array of new features to make Legl even better for law firms and to further our goal of enabling firms to deliver best-in-class client experiences.
Our new features are designed to enable improved cash flow, greater efficiency and productivity, and better oversight and visibility across the firm.
In response to market changes and feedback, we’ve moved quickly to digitise client management processes – offering fast and automated client due diligence, together with efficient payments and reconciliation tools.
Business Milestones
Series B Funding
In May we closed an $18 million Series B funding round which has helped us fuel the next phase of product expansion to better meet our customers’ needs. Commenting on the Series B in a statement, Malcolm Ferguson, investor at Octopus Ventures, added: “We’re delighted to continue to support Julia and the team at Legl on their mission to free up lawyers’ time so they focus on creating value for their clients”. Read more.
“Supplier of the Year” Award
We were thrilled to have been named “Supplier of the Year” in the British Legal Technology Awards, and runner-up in the “Innovation in Legal Services” category. The “Supplier of the Year” award recognises legal suppliers who have demonstrated excellence in legal technology and client focused services both for SME and LME. This award confirmed that Legl is helping to re-shape the future of law firms and legal businesses in the UK. Read more.
Notable Feature Releases
Payment Plans. Through the Legl platform, you can now offer instalment payments as an option for your clients, creating more certainty around cash flow, automating core finance processes, and delivering an enhanced client experience.
Pay by Bank. This feature leverages innovative open banking technology for account-to-account payments that allow clients to authorise the secure transfer of funds directly from their online banking app without the need to enter bank or card details.
Custom Forms. Build customisable forms to suit your firm’s needs, client, and matter types to streamline information capture, from initial onboarding and support surveys to source of wealth questionnaires and client feedback.
| “As soon as we saw Custom Forms, we wanted to do our NI information collection processes through Legl as this makes it so much better for the client, while ensuring we remain compliant – everything is in one spot.” Natasha Boyland, Director and Head of Operations and Risk, Woodstock Legal Services |
International Company Reports. This feature gives Legl users instant access to group structures, directors, credit information, and more for businesses across 160 countries. This reduces the time required to manually search for information across external sources and get complete audit trails and firm-wide oversight.
Source of Funds with Open Banking. Our new and improved source of funds checks make it quick and easy to get all the information you need for AML checks on transactions in one simple report, de-risking client payments with comprehensive background evidence. Clients can securely provide bank statements by connecting their online bank accounts, with six months’ worth of transactions fetched in seconds.
Additional Features and Improvements
In addition to all the great features above, we’ve also released a number of improvements to the platform that have benefits for both your firm and your clients.
With Instant Screening, you can easily run a watchlist screening or PEPs and sanctions check on an individual (such as directors, shareholders, or PSCs) from a new or existing company report – results return immediately and without notifying the individual.
When you upload client and matter risk assessments to the platform, you can add risk scores to individual clients to get quick visibility over risk profiles, and build an audit trail over time to help inform next steps.
Remove the need to manually chase clients with automated email reminders, improving cash flow and speeding up client engagements.
| “The automated reminders and payment links have really driven the speed in payments, especially for overdue invoices.” Julia Taylor, Director of Client Services, Debenhams Ottaway |
Use Ongoing Monitoring to alert your firm to any updates to clients’ AML status. Automate risk monitoring with PEPs and sanctions checks, and manage updates centrally to keep client information up to date.
Multi-factor Authentication is designed to prevent anyone from accessing your account – even if they know the password.
Software Integrations
We are pleased to have kicked off integration partnerships with Access Legal and Advanced. Their integrated software solutions allow data to flow freely across different systems, giving your staff and clients the tools and information they need in real time.
Combine Legl with a range of case and practice management systems for even greater business impact, including:
Access Legal. With Legl and Access Group Proclaim or DPS together, law firms can use beautifully integrated online payments to streamline processes, drive revenue growth, and ensure records are up-to-date and compliant.
Advanced. Accelerate file opening and improve data quality with a seamless integration between Legl and P4W. Increase efficiency across the client onboarding process and streamline data management to ensure records are up-to-date and compliant.
2022 Key Results
We saw some incredible results in 2022.
- Number of firms in the Top 200: 28
- Payments processed across all Legl customers: £100,000,000
- Average time to complete the onboarding process: 22 hours
- Average time it takes a client to pay leveraging payment request links and automated reminders: 8 hours
- Onboarding processes completed outside of office hours: 49%
- Client payments completed outside of office hours: 34%
- Firms with over 50 staff typically remove 10+ hours of administrative tasks per month
Bring on 2023
After an incredibly busy and successful 2022 with one prestigious award in the bag, what’s next in store for Legl?
We’re not slowing down; in fact, a whole host of new features are in the pipeline to further our product as an integral part of law firms’ technology ecosystems. Watch this space!
