Lawtech firm Luminance valued at U$100 million

Legal-focused AI firm Luminance has been valued at U$100 million in its latest funding round.

The Series B round has completed with backers including Invoke Capital, Talis Capital, and Slaughter and May investing $10m.

The funds will be used to support Luminance’s recent product expansion and global growth, with the company now having four offerings, five global offices, including Singapore, and over 70 employees since launching in 2016.

The firm’s solution is used by around 130 clients, typically for legal due diligence, compliance reviews, and eDiscovery.

“2018 was a year of significant achievement for Luminance,” commented Emily Foges, CEO of Luminance. “We have expanded from one product to four, owing to the flexibility and innovative nature of our core technology. This has enabled a remarkable rate of global customer acquisition over the last 12 months and these funds will valuably support this continued expansion.”

Dentons opens in Dusseldorf
Global firm Dentons continues to bolster its European capabilities with the opening of its new Dusseldorf office.

It’s the firm’s fourth in Germany and has an initial focus on public procurement, EU state aid, trade as well as employment law. It is currently in talks to hire additions to the launch team of seven lawyers led by partners Andreas Haak and Sascha Grosjean who joined from Taylor Wessing.

“We are very excited to be bringing the largest law firm in the world to Düsseldorf. Dentons’ entrepreneurial spirit fosters new ideas, technologies and approaches for client work and international collaboration,” said Andreas Haak, Düsseldorf Managing Partner. “We have a bold vision to build the team into an innovative, full-service office in Düsseldorf, and are actively recruiting lawyers who share our startup mindset and our passion for client value.”

KPMG to expand into UK amid reports of mass French hire
Big Four firm KPMG is to expand its legal consultancy offering into the UK market in the coming months.

The Law Society Gazette says that the firm plans to enhance the division that helps in-house legal teams better manage technology and flexible resources.

Meanwhile, the Global Legal Post reports that KPMG has hired 130 lawyers from leading French firm Fidal. The two firms ended an association agreement in 2018.