Footballers Harry Maguire and Reece James are among those that co-led UK legal tech startup Lawhive’s $40m series A funding for a push into the US.

Founded in 2019 by Pierre Proner, Jaime Van Oers and Flinn Dolman, Lawhive’s technology automates day-to-day, repetitive administrative tasks such as client on-boarding and document collection.

It states its tech reduces costs for customers by up to 50 per cent.

At the core of Lawhive’s platform is Lawrence, an AI lawyer that automates routine legal tasks. In tests, Lawrence has matched the performance of human lawyers and passed part one of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE).

Now, the startup is focused on moving into the US legal market.

The startup revealed it raised $40m in Series A funding for this strategy position. The round was co-led by existing investor Google Ventures and New York-based TQ Ventures, with participation from Balderton Capital, Jigsaw, Episode 1 and the two Premier League footballers, Maguire and James.

Commenting on the move, Proner said: “This funding will accelerate our US launch, where demand for faster, more affordable legal services is significant.”

The CEO also noted that “by augmenting the work of human lawyers with our technology, we’re addressing a critical need in the US market and unlocking new opportunities for millions of US attorneys.”

The investment comes on the back of Google’s venture arm, with participation from Episode 1 Ventures, leading a seed round worth £9.5m to fund Lawhive back in April following a £1.5m investment in April 2022.