SmartLaw

Smartlaw.de operates as a legal technology platform, offering a sophisticated solution for creating customized legal documents for both individuals and businesses. The company was established in August 2012 by a team of lawyers: Daniel Biene, Christoph Herrlich, and Ralf-Michael Schmidt. Their shared professional experiences revealed a market gap between unreliable, free templates and the high cost of bespoke legal advice. This led them to develop a cloud-based service that guides users through an intuitive question-and-answer process to generate tailored legal documents.

The platform provides a cost-effective and secure alternative to traditional legal services for standardized situations. It serves a broad clientele, ranging from startups and small to medium-sized enterprises to private individuals needing contracts for employment, real estate, or personal matters. The service is particularly beneficial for startups, offering packages like the "Business Starter" which includes over 30 essential documents for the founding phase. The core of Smartlaw's service is an intelligent document-generation system that produces legally sound documents without requiring users to have prior legal knowledge. The platform's content is developed and consistently updated by experienced legal professionals to reflect the latest legislation and judicial precedents.

Smartlaw's revenue is generated through a flexible business model. Clients can purchase individual documents or opt for subscription plans that provide access to a wide range of documents. Options include monthly and annual subscriptions tailored to different needs, such as "Business & Unternehmen" or "Vermieten & Immobilien". In March 2014, the company was acquired by Wolters Kluwer, a global provider of information services for professionals in the legal, business, tax, and accounting sectors. This acquisition integrated Smartlaw's agile platform with Wolters Kluwer's extensive legal expertise and resources, allowing for a significant expansion of its offerings. A landmark legal victory in 2021 further solidified Smartlaw's position, with Germany's Federal Court of Justice affirming that its dialogue-based document generation does not constitute the unauthorized practice of law, a key validation of its business model.

Keywords: legal technology, document automation, online legal services, contract generation, legal document templates, legal software, business contracts, startup legal, real estate documents, employment agreements, digital legal assistance, Wolters Kluwer, legal-tech Germany, DIY legal documents, subscription legal service, automated legal advice, contract management, self-service legal, corporate legal tools, private legal documents