CanLaw pivots to bring more tech to legal profession: Page 2 of 2

Beyond lawyer discovery

CanLaw’s tech team, which built the platform and developed its software, currently consists of two people but the startup is looking to grow the team in the near future to support more business growth.

“Lawyer discovery is just the start for us. We are looking for more things to build to help lawyers work and provide legal services more efficiently and reduce their costs,” says Loo.

The startup has already started on this journey by providing training and workshops to law firms in adopting free online tools, educating them on what kind of tech they can adopt and setting up their own websites, among others.

It is also organising the LexTech Conference 2017, the first legal technology conference in Southeast Asia, with the aim of educating and equipping legal service providers with tech knowledge. The conference is on Nov 4 and 5 in Kuala Lumpur.

Despite a recent spike in legal technology startups in the country or trying to enter the country, the legal profession has remained largely cautious about embracing technological change. Loo points out that when it comes to tech and platforms like CanLaw, many lawyers are rightly risk averse simply because of the legal practice rules they are subject to.

The law firms CanLaw does service are of varying sizes from big to small but Loo says the startup has been most successful with boutique law firms that comprise five lawyers or less. “The majority of our clients are typically the younger generation who are more open to tech,” he reveals.

Gan Ming Chiek (pic, right), a young lawyer in Kuala Lumpur and CanLaw user before the platform suspension opines that though young lawyers in Malaysia have been swift in adopting technology to assist in their day-to-day work, legal technology as a whole still needs to be further accelerated to really put Malaysia on the map for legal tech in SEA.

“CanLaw's efforts in promoting tech adoption amongst lawyers have been vital for the advancement of legal technology in Malaysia. I think LexTech is an important step in promoting legal tech adoption as the conference seeks to educate and empower those involved in the legal industry,” he says, adding that he believes that with the right development and support, technology can bring a necessary positive change to the legal industry and can help open access to justice.

More on the horizon

CanLaw does have one competitor in the Malaysian market who, Loo says, it gets compared to quite often –BurgieLaw. CanLaw’s services were suspended at a point when it had about the same number of lawyers registered as BurgieLaw, but Loo says that the suspension will not push CanLaw back.

CanLaw is currently funded by Cradle Fund’s CIP150 Catalyst grant and once CanLaw Syariah is rolled out, it will have exceeded its targets for this programme and complete it by the end of November.

The startup also obtained minority investment from Brickfields Asia College where the latter provides office space, mentorship and guidance.

CanLaw is looking for more grant funding. According to Loo, it is not ready for venture capitalist or angel funding because it does not want to give up any equity just yet. “When we do scale, that’s when we will look for VC funding, but not when we are just in Malaysia,” he says.

Because CanLaw works on a subscription model – lawyers pay to be listed on the platform – the startup is not making any revenue while the platform is suspended and before CanLaw Syariah is launched. CanLaw Syariah will charge Syariah lawyers RM120 (US$28.40) per month for a monthly subscription and RM100 (US$23.60) per month for an annual subscription.

The startup is targeting a revenue of RM400,000 – 500,000 (US$94,500 – 118,000) by December next year and then between RM2 million and RM3 million (US$472,600 and US$709,000) for the year after.

“When we’ve spoken to potential investors, there has never been a question about whether our targets are too high. They are definitely achievable with the right sort of execution,” says Loo.

It must be noted that these revenue targets include both Syariah and civil lawyers on the platform. If there is no possibility of getting the civil lawyers on the platform, Loo says CanLaw will deem Malaysia completed and move on to the next market.

“It will be fantastic if things work out with the Bar Council but if not, we will figure out a way to get things done, just like any startup would. Syariah lawyers are just one way to meet our goals.

“The real challenge is proving that this business model can work and then scaling it to different countries.”

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