Swedish legaltech firm Legora is opening two new offices in Tokyo and Singapore to roll out its expansion in the APAC region, adding to its Sydney office which opened last year.
The firm is increasing its presence across APAC in response to escalating demand for its products from existing customers in the region, alongside legal teams who regard APAC as a growth area.
Max Junestrand, CEO and co-founder of Legora, said: “The conditions in Asia-Pacific right now, record M&A volumes in Japan, Singapore’s position as the arbitration and deal hub of the region, a legal services market that rivals the EU in scale, make this the right moment to commit fully.
“We see a significant opportunity, and we intend to lead in it.”
Heather Paterson, Legora’s VP for revenue, APAC, commented that Tokyo and Singapore were “deliberate” choices.
She said: “APAC’s combined legal services fee pool rivals that of the EU, and the cross-border deal and disputes work that flows between this region and EMEA and the US runs through corridors Legora already covers. For the first time, we can say we’re truly global in the way our clients are.”
Legora says that Japan is one of the world’s largest legal services markets by revenue, and that the Tokyo office positions it at the core of a deal market, which is integrated with the US corridor.
Its new Singapore office will provide support for international firms who are headquartered on the island, alongside the growing volume of in-house legal teams who supervise their APAC legal operations from the city.
Firms are attracted to practising in Singapore due to its status as an English common law jurisdiction, making it a natural entry point for firms conducting cross-border legal work in the region.
The Singapore International Arbitration Centre is also one of the world’s leading arbitration venues.
The two bases will further cement a foothold in the APAC region, after the opening of its Sydney office in November last year, where several law firms including Hamilton Locke and HWL Ebsworth have become part of its customer base.
Earlier this month, Legora acquired Melbourne-based regulatory horizon scanning platform start-up Graceview to expand its presence in the Australian legal market.
Also this month, the firm extended its recent Series D funding round, raising an extra $50m at a $5.6bn valuation, led by software firm Atlassian alongside NVIDIA’s venture capital arm Nventures.
Airtree and Geodesic Capital were also investors, and together with Atlassian all are firmly established in the APAC market, underscoring the increasing influence of the region.
Legora’s APAC expansion follows that of legaltech rival Harvey, which opened a Singapore office in March, adding to its existing APAC bases in Sydney and Bengaluru.
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