Dentons Launches Office Hours, a Legaltech R&D Program
Dentons UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKIME) is pleased to announce the launch of Office Hours – a unique opportunity for tech companies to build, test, and develop innovative solutions tailored to the legal market.
The programme brings together technology companies and Dentons' legal innovation specialists to explore the latest products capable of disrupting traditional legal processes. Successful applicants will have the opportunity to co-develop and test products within Dentons' wider Research and Development (R&D) programme, with guidance and expertise from Dentons’ UK-based Innovation and AI team.
This multidisciplinary team comprises Data Scientists, Product Managers, Innovation Advisers, and Legal Technologists. The Dentons R&D programme tests and develops new solutions to benefit the firm and its clients.
As part of the Dentons Office Hours R&D programme, selected legal tech companies will:
- Collaborate with Dentons' legal and innovation teams to refine their product within a structured R&D framework;
- Co-develop solutions tailored to specific use cases, ensuring the product fits seamlessly into existing workflows and provides practical, scalable results;
- Test and iterate their product using specific use cases that focus on how the solution can be integrated into Dentons' operations or offered to its clients; and
- Explore partnership opportunities, including potential pilot programmes, to further develop and scale the solution across Dentons' network.
Office Hours aims to identify and develop products that fall within its established innovation focus areas:
- Knowledge management: Ensuring Dentons' knowledge base is readily accessible for efficient matter delivery. Facilitating knowledge sharing, reducing redundancy, and enhancing decision-making through intuitive search and retrieval.
- Document lifecycle and matter management: Streamlining workflows and document management to enable seamless data capture, retrieval and compliance. Supporting real-time collaboration, audit trails, and process automation to minimise inefficiencies.
- Communication and collaboration: Enhancing data tracking, visualisation and presentation for business insights and secure collaboration. Enabling integrated messaging and real-time document editing to improve client experience and operational effectiveness.
- Document and data extraction: Utilising advanced technologies, including LLMs, to analyse documents, retrieve and structure information, and support efficient validation and reporting.
- Data analysis and information visualisation: Applying advanced techniques to present complex data clearly, transforming raw data into actionable insights with intuitive visualisation tools for better decision-making and client reporting.
- Budgeting, costs, and resource management: Harnessing data and technology for strategic pricing, quick fee estimation, budgeting, cost management, reporting, and resource allocation.
Rowena Rix, Head of Innovation and AI at Dentons UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKIME), said: "We're excited to launch Dentons Office Hours, which promises to uncover some of the best in future legal tech solutions.”
"This is not just a pitch event – it’s an opportunity for tech visionaries to co-develop and test products under our direction and expertise as we drive our ambitious growth strategy.”
"Companies joining our R&D programme can expect to take a 'capability first' approach, laser-focused on problem solving for our clients and business.”
"If you meet our criteria and are excited by what Dentons has to offer, apply to participate before the May deadline."
Paul Jarvis, CEO of Dentons UK, Ireland and Middle East (UKIME), added: "As a firm that remains at the forefront of legal innovation, I am thrilled to offer this opportunity to ambitious companies who share our vision for a tech-enabled future. I look forward with great enthusiasm to the ideas presented to our Innovation and AI team, and to seeing the outcomes of this programme."
Visit Dentons’ website for detailed information on eligibility requirements, application steps, and next steps.
About Dentons
Dentons helps you grow, protect, operate and finance your organisation by providing uniquely global and deeply local legal solutions. Polycentric, purpose-driven and committed to inclusion, diversity, equity and sustainability.
