12 Acquisition International - Issue 2 2022 Law 365 rior to Law 365, Kim was an M&A Associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP. She has an LLM in International Business and Trade Law, graduating cum laude from Fordham University School of Law, and an LLB (European) from the University of Exeter. A new kind of law firm Law 365 is the realisation of Kim’s vision for a new kind of law firm. All Kim’s lawyers are experts in Microsoft (one is Azure certified) and commercially savvy. In the last 2 years the business has grown from 3 to 26 staff, from 10 clients to over 50, and 2022 will see the launch of its own AI products. Innovative pricing Law 365’s Legal-as-a-Service (LaaS) model mirrors the IT business model SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) and has been a great success among Microsoft Partners because it emulates their own way of selling and billing. The subscription model also spares Law 365’s legal team the dreaded time recording that is universally hated by all lawyers. Excellent client service Clients love Law 365’s unique combination of specialization, affordability and client service and the fact that they embrace Microsoft Technologies. Do you know any other law firms that are paperless? Kim’s technology solicitors are also business advisors. The firm structure and culture emulates the start-up SaaS model, so her clients feel at home immediately. She knows that technology businesses don’t want boring, stuffy lawyers. Microsoft Partners are looking for lawyers who are team players, but with deep legal knowledge. Redefining what matters Being a mindful leader is a critical element in Kim’s success. Kim has started an “Inner MBA” course at New York University, with other mindful CEOs, where she is learning the elements of great leadership. When Kim started a family, she felt there were only two choices available – her career or her family. She works hard to show there’s a third option. Her leadership style demands excellence while at the same time respecting each individual’s right to manage their work/life balance. She encourages taking time for oneself too (with mediation, yoga and gong baths) and our in-house coach teaches the team how to communicate openly, even when there’s something difficult to say. More than a law firm Law 365 started as a Commercial team but now has a thriving Employment practice too, which is not surprising, given the incredible challenges employers have navigated in the face of Brexit, Covid, Settlement Status, IR35 etc. P Established as a specialised commercial and employment law firm in 2014, Law 365 is led by Founder and CEO Kim Simmonds, Kent’s Most Influential Woman in Technology Law. Law 365 is unique because it only works for Microsoft Partners and offers its clients the benefits of an in-house legal team on a monthly subscription model covering all of their commercial and employment legal needs, plus performance coaching to help their businesses succeed. Company: Law 365 Telephone: 01892 313 943 Email: hello@law365.co Website: www.law365.co Dec21541 This year it will be offering its clients Performance Coaching as well. Law 365’s mission is to help their clients grow with less risk, so it makes sure it does more than draft excellent contracts. With over 20,000 Microsoft Partners in the UK – many of them too small to take on a legal team – Kim challenged her inhouse IT team to develop an AI solution for reviewing simple contracts. The goal is to democratize the legal process and empower their clients by giving them the Artificial Intelligence tools they need to protect their businesses. The challenge was accepted, and Law 365 will soon launch their “Digital Lawyer” – an NDA reading tool. The NDA reader solves a problem that feels ubiquitous. Many business owners think NDAs are straightforward and so opt to save themselves some legal fees by doing them by themselves. This is rarely a good idea. “Law 365’s Digital Lawyer adds sophistication and, dare we say, intelligence, to the template they might have previously been tempted to download online,” explains Kim. “It scans a Non-Disclosure Agreement, flagging important clauses that require attention and adding commentary that the business owner can use to make the right decisions. It will revolutionise the way clients can read contracts - showing them where there’s risk and ultimately providing alternative wording to de-risk their position. Sounds simple but the machine learning capabilities of this is anything but!” The more contracts the AI reads, the smarter it becomes, so Law 365 will be offering it to clients first for a free trial. As the technology is refined, they will apply it to more complex agreements. Law 365 is also about to launch Forever Contracts for to its clients. Have you ever wondered if your existing contracts are up to date with the latest legislation? Well, a Forever Contract is updated automatically when legislation changes. In addition to this, Kim has developed a membership society providing research and networking opportunities to her clients and hosting a popular quarterly book club. Law 365’s innovative technology gets her clients and their businesses in the best shape possible to achieve sustainable growth, which why we think she deserves the title, Kent’s Most Influential Woman in Technology. Most Influential Woman in Technology Law 2022 - Kent
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