Australian legal startup Lawpath has closed a $4.4 million fundraising round, which it said was one of the largest capital raises for legal tech in Australian history.
The investment will be used to strengthen its products and services in Australia and to expand into Asia.
Lawpath also today launched a new legal services platform for Australian businesses.
Lawpath is similar to LegalZoom in the United States, offering low-cost, online legal help to consumers and small businesses. In fact, LegalZoom last year led a $1.8 million investment round in Lawpath.
For this latest round, LegalZoom returned as an investor. The oversubscribed round was led by Adcock Private Equity and also included Pollenizer Investments, Fort Street Advisors, Machdoch Ventures and Norton Rose Fulbright head of Innovation Nick Abrahams.
Lawpath’s products include its Legal Advice Plan, which gives Australian businesses access to a lawyer on demand for a flat monthly fee of $49. It has also launched an e-signature tool that allows users to sign Lawpath documents online or upload their own for signature.
“Australians are embracing a new wave of legal technology, which, similar to online banking or accounting, has made this core service accessible online,” said Dominic Woolrych, Lawpath CEO. “We hope with this capital we can continue to help everyday Australians get the legal help they actually need, but often neglect due to cost and complexity.”
Woolrych said his goal for Lawpath is to become the “Xero of law.” The accounting software Xero started in New Zealand and grew to become an international company with customers in more than 180 countries.