Venture capital

Based in the U.K., Luminance entered the legal technology industry in 2015 with the international market in mind. In the two years since, the company has inked deals with an impressive list of law firm clients across the globe, in places such as Australia, New Zealand, Finland and Singapore. But, in CEO Emily Foges' telling, serving this sprawling array meant U.K. employees “jumping on planes all the time.”

Foges told LTN that this “global footprint” meant Luminance needed “a global team.” In its first stage of expansion, the company announced on Nov. 29 the opening of its U.S. headquarters in Chicago. The office will be the company's first international location, and according to a statement from Luminance, was a response to demand from clients in North America.

Luminance decided on Chicago in February, after ALM's Legalweek event in New York. Cravath, Swaine & Moore had been piloting Luminance for several months, and at the event, partner George Schoen appeared alongside Foges on a panel discussing the impact of AI on due diligence. After showcasing the software, Foges said that the company got “such a huge response,” particularly from Chicago firms.

Cravath inked a deal with Luminance in July, but it wasn't the first to work with the contract automation company. In September 2016, Magic Circle firm Slaughter and May signed with Luminance, and it has invested millions in the company over the past two years. In March, the firm took a 5 percent equity stake in Luminance. Meanwhile in Australia, Coors Chambers Westgarth and Gilbert + Tobin have both adopted the technology, as have firms in Italy, Denmark and Singapore.

Luminance plans to continue opening headquarters beyond the U.S. and U.K. as well. It was also announced on Nov. 29, that the company was valued at $50M after closing a series A funding round at $10M.

Luminance plans to use the funds to support its Chicago office as well as further expand operations. Foges said that “step two” in the process will be “sending a scouting mission out to Singapore next year.” This, along with Chicago, means it will be “covered from a time zone perspective” in helping customers.

“We have lots of customers in the [Asia-Pacific] region,” she added. “I want us to have product support, and at present our product support means getting out of bed at two in the morning.”

Indeed, newer legal markets have, in Foges' opinion, been more open to adopting Luminance's technology.

“I didn't expect it to be like that; I thought it would start with the U.K. and maybe the U.S. It's actually gone the other way, the emerging markets have really pushed it and wanted to move quickly,” Foges explained. “U.S. firms haven't addressed the technology opportunity in the same way that the European and Asian firms have.”