The rise of legal technology in the city of Leeds

In 1876 Albert Gibson, a newly qualified solicitor, began advertising for pupils who needed coaching for the Law Society examinations. In 1881, he was joined by his first pupil, Arthur Weldon, to form Gibson & Weldon, which went on to pioneer legal professional training.

and there is now a real hum of activity surrounding this project. In April this year, Leeds will host its second annual legal tech conference. A Legal Tech in Leeds Steering Group has also been established and recently met with Mike Freer MP, as part of the Minister of Justice’s ‘Great Legal Services’ initiative.

The University of Law is taking a central role in developing and promoting Legal Tech in Leeds. The University of Law’s Legal Tech department, ULTRA, has been looking at the future of Legal Services for the last 5 years and the University now offers Tech and Innovation Courses to all students from school leavers to post graduate. Students can learn about entrepreneurship, innovation, artificial intelligence and blockchain and even complete the MSC in LegalTech. The fact that there are brand new opportunities to use technology to craft a different career in law highlights how legal services are changing. The University of Law holds regular events such as the Legal Innovators Breakfast Club which aims to connect lawyers and technologists.

Gibson & Weldon subsequently joined with the Law Society and became the College of Law, which in turn became the University of Law; the institution that we now are today. Although more than one hundred years have passed, our mission remains the same; to shape the next generation of the lawyers entering the profession through innovative and inspiring professional training.

At the time Gibson would have been training as a lawyer, the industrial revolution was transforming Leeds from a small market town on the banks of the River Aire, to the “city that can make anything” in a very short time. In 2023 thanks to the collaborative efforts of law firms, technologists, local government and the University of Law, a new revolution is gripping the city – this time it is legal technology (‘legal tech’), and it is already gaining national attention.

Legal tech in Leeds really took off following an inaugural meeting between Leeds City Council, Leeds Law Society and the University of Laws four years ago, which was set up to discuss the capability of the legal and tech sectors in Leeds. From that meeting, WhiteCap Consulting were commissioned to produce a report that mapped the city’s capabilities in law and in tech, and this generated widespread engagement with stakeholders throughout the city in both the law and tech sectors. Much has been achieved over the past few years

It’s never been more important for all those who work in legal services to understand technology and to harness the power of innovation. The ambition is for Leeds to be at the centre of this tech renaissance.The LegalTech in Leeds Annual Conference will take place on 26th April 2022 and you can reserve tickets and find out more at the websitewww.legaltechinleeds.com.

Find out more about ULTRA and the University of Law’s work in Legal Innovation and Tech at www. law.ac.uk/ultra