In a boost for British business, a delegation of the best and the brightest legal minds have visited Illinois and New York as part of the Great Legal Services campaign, alongside the Department for Business and Trade.

In both cities, the group met with hundreds of other law firms, businesses and investors from around the world at major lawtech conferences – helping them increase their international business and further boost the UK economy.

Figures show trade in legal services between the US and UK was worth £2.2bn in 2022. Some of the companies in the delegation already turn over £20 million a year and have clients around the world, including in the USA, Singapore and Australia.

Minister for Courts and Legal Services, Sarah Sackman KC, said:

We’re kickstarting our economy by harnessing the power of AI, technology and innovation in law. Backing British lawtech will boost businesses and attract international investment as part of our Plan for Change.

In a fast-changing global market, UK law and lawtech are at the cutting edge. This trade mission and Government investment in lawtech will ensure the UK stays in pole position for law while growing the wider economy.

These events support UK lawtechs – companies which make technology or software to provide legal services – to win business and grow their market presence in the United States.

The trip also helped develop a pipeline of US lawtech firms to be set up or expanded in the UK, further cementing the UK’s position as a world leader in legal services and legal technology and supporting smaller regional firms to trade internationally.

His Majesty’s Consul General, British Consulate-General, Richard Hyde said:

Chicago is home to one of the largest and most dynamic legal sectors in the US.

There are huge opportunities for the brightest and best UK legal tech companies.

We were excited to welcome this ministerial led trade mission; it is opening doors for UK innovators and driving growth in the UK and in Illinois.

This mission comes following a recent announcement that the Lawtech UK programme, a government-backed initiative to drive digital transformation in the domestic legal services industry, will be funded for another year to help further the UK’s leading position in the global legal services market.

Overall, the UK’s legal sector generates £37 billion for the UK economy every year.  In recent months key agreements have been made with other nations to strengthen the sector – including agreements with Switzerland, Japan, and Greece – by allowing UK lawyers to practise abroad. 

Notes to editors:

• The GREAT Legal Services campaign was launched in 2017 to promote and support the strength of English and Welsh Law, the UK’s world-renowned independent judiciary, and our legal expertise to the global market, including legal technology. 

• In the last financial year, the campaign generated more than 800 business connections for UK legal professionals and reached over 2.6 million online in key markets across the world.