50 Innovative Companies to Watch 2020
The Silicon Review
Law 365 is a specialised commercial and employment law firm under the leadership of the Founder and CEO, Kim Simmonds. Kim established the company in 2014 to make a difference to the way Microsoft Partner businesses work with lawyers. Law 365 redefines the modern law firm by partnering with clients long term on a monthly subscription model that covers all their legal needs.
Law 365’s Legal-as-a-Service (LaaS) model has been a great success among Microsoft Partners because of its unique combination of specialization, affordability and client service. Part of its success is owed to the Microsoft Technologies that the firm has embraced to offer real-time legal advice, enhanced communication and efficient processes.
But what really sets Law 365 apart is their Forever Promise to their clients.
“Our Forever Promise is that we help Microsoft Partners grow their business with less risk by simplifying, speeding up and managing their legal processes, so they can focus on running their business. We partner with our clients for the long term. Our client’s success is our success, so we want Microsoft partners to grow their business with less risk,” explains Kim.
“We start by auditing all current contracts and procedures across both commercial and HR. We then simplify and streamline the processes to reduce customer friction, ease renewal, and speed up the sales cycle. This is combined with ongoing negotiation and management of the entire commercial and HR process.”
“In short, we bring all their commercial and HR documents to an excellent maturity level and keep them there. We’re even developing a contract “vault” for each client so they know where to find their latest contracts whenever they need them. They can sleep easy at night knowing that we are making sure their contracts are always up to date and in compliance with the latest legislation.”
The Legal Solution for Microsoft Partners
With specialised expertise and modern business technology, Law 365 is disrupting the way that Microsoft Partners typically experience legal services. “We’re different because we’ve modelled ourselves on what you want in a modern law firm. We asked 50 CEOs of Microsoft Partners and leading tech firms and they told us that the traditional legal model was broken,” says Kim Simmonds.
Kim wants Law 365 to address several pain points faced by Microsoft Partners.
For example, Microsoft Partners get very frustrated with lawyers who are slow and don’t understand their business.
“Why waste time explaining how the industry works to a generalist lawyer, when you can deal with someone who could run any IT firm better than most MD’s,” says Matthew Reeve, CEO at Modern Networks Limited.
Many Microsoft Partners believe that slow legal processes can hold them back from growth, but reluctantly engage legal advice because they don’t want to be exposed to risk. Law 365 has them covered by knowing their business, speaking their language, and focusing on commercial terms.
Microsoft Partners win multiple contracts throughout the course of a year which means that they often end up paying high fees for ad hoc legal advice. Law 365’s subscription model can help companies save as much as 10% on their legal fees. Knowing legal costs upfront allows them to forecast spending for the year.
Customers Speak
“We were looking for a modern and innovative legal firm with a deep understanding of the complexities of the technology world and in particular the Microsoft software licensing expertise. The on-boarding process was very efficient and incredibly fast, with a series of agreed tasks and activities underway within a few days of our initial contact and their commercial models were flexible and fitted our requirements perfectly. Kim and the team are highly knowledgeable, a pleasure to work with and I would highly recommend Law 365.” – Scott Dodds, CEO at Ultima Business Solutions
“We chose Law 365 to help us because they’re specialists in Microsoft contracts, Microsoft Partners and the IT/Software channel. It’s been fantastic, they’re always there when we need them.”– Nicole Hill, Sales Operations Manager at Grey Matter
“First and foremost, the team at Law 365 are human beings. They’re responsive and always available when we need them to be. They’re pragmatic and realistic about the risks we are opening ourselves up to.” – Richard Lockey, Country Manager at Crayon UK
The Legal Entrepreneur
Kim Simmonds founded Law 365 in 2014, knowing that the traditional legal system was broken. As the CEO of Law 365, she wants to disrupt and improve the legal profession, helping Microsoft partners grow with an offering so compelling that our clients never want to leave. She’s committed to providing an amazing place for people to work and supporting local community.
Before starting Law 365 Kim worked in the USA as an M&A Associate at Shearman & Sterling LLP. She has an LLM in International Business and Trade Law, graduating cum laude from Fordham University School of Law, and an LLB (European) from University of Exeter.