Following on from the launch last month of consultancy, paralegal and flexible lawyer offerings, DWF has entered into the growing legal product market by launching a wholly owned subsidiary, 15squared, to sell and develop technology products for in-house clients.
Headed up by DWF’s chief technology officer Richard Hodkinson, the tech venture was born out of Claimbase Solution, a cloud-based tool for large insurers with volume claims, which the firm acquired through its 2013 merger with professional indemnity practice Fishburns.
Alongside Claimbase, the top-25 firm has also developed other products including DWF Pinpoint, which provides secure online space for storing client documents and data, and DWF Notify, an incident notification app which communicates alerts throughout an organisation.
Hodkinson will be supported by an 18-member sales, marketing and operations team based across the firm’s offices in London and Manchester as well as a number of developers. Commenting on the venture Hodkinson said 15squared had been launched in direct response to changes in client demand for more tailored, technology-driven services.
He added: ‘DWF has built a reputation as being at the forefront of innovation and has invested heavily in its in-house technology in order to deliver legal services differently, and the launch of 15squared as an independent entity allows us to focus on identifying market needs and bringing these services to DWF’s clients and the wider market with greater efficiency and value than ever before.’
Last month the firm overhauled its business model to include a centralised legal support centre with paralegals based in Manchester, a consultancy and a contract lawyer service spearheaded by the firm’s head of employment and service delivery Andrew Chamberlain.
kathryn.mccann@legalease.co.uk
