Law Firm Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas Unveils Second Batch Of Legal-Tech Startup Incubator

Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, one of India’s largest corporate law firms has launched the second batch of its legal-tech startup incubator- Prarambh, senior executives at the firm said. The firm plans to pick 3-5 startups and mentor them over a 10 week period to develop solutions that align with the practical requirements of law firms, corporate legal departments, judiciary and independent practitioners. Unlike typical startup incubator or accelerator programs, CAM does not invest money upfront. “We will keep the option to invest later, depending on how these companies turn out. We can take a small stake, 5%, or even consider acquiring later on. The focus is on providing intellectual support now,” said Rishabh Shroff, partner at CAM. In its first batch in February 2019, the law firm received applications from pre-product and idea-stage startups, as well as more mature startups which had a product. Its winners from the first batch were Leegality- which automates documentation needs such as e-signature and stamping; LegalMind- which uses AI to break down legal judgements and provide analytics; and JRTC Intern- which provides a standardized test to for law students to know whether they are ready for an internship. The law firm is also working to ensure post-program support for the startups.