{"id":855,"date":"2021-01-17T06:41:26","date_gmt":"2021-01-17T06:41:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/?p=855"},"modified":"2021-01-18T07:15:04","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T07:15:04","slug":"meet-clara-a-legal-tech-startup-in-the-heart-of-the-uae","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/meet-clara-a-legal-tech-startup-in-the-heart-of-the-uae\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet Clara, a legal tech startup in the heart of the UAE."},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"855\" class=\"elementor elementor-855\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-73f323a elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"73f323a\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-432b7ba\" data-id=\"432b7ba\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-c6a81aa elementor-author-box--layout-image-left elementor-author-box--align-left elementor-widget elementor-widget-author-box\" data-id=\"c6a81aa\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"author-box.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div  class=\"elementor-author-box__avatar\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/\u05de\u05d0\u05d9\u05d4-\u05d0\u05e9\u05db\u05e0\u05d6\u05d9-\u05db\u05d5\u05ea\u05d1\u05ea.png\" alt=\"Picture of Maya Ashkenazi\" loading=\"lazy\">\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-author-box__text\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div >\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h4 class=\"elementor-author-box__name\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMaya Ashkenazi\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-inner-section elementor-element elementor-element-8af4d4c elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"8af4d4c\" data-element_type=\"section\" data-e-type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-5226a2e\" data-id=\"5226a2e\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-316be28 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"316be28\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Following the new normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel, I was fascinated to explore the legal tech field in the UAE, especially in Dubai. I learned about a very interesting legal tech startup that has been growing for a while in Dubai and London and had the pleasure to speak to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/progers1\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Patrick Rogers<\/a> who is a former startup lawyer and now is the co-founder and CEO of <a href=\"https:\/\/clara.co\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Clara<\/a>.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-50 elementor-inner-column elementor-element elementor-element-838f62b\" data-id=\"838f62b\" data-element_type=\"column\" data-e-type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9df95e2 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9df95e2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"312\" height=\"312\" src=\"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/patrick_image.png\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-857\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/patrick_image.png 312w, https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/patrick_image-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/patrick_image-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 312px) 100vw, 312px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-344f7de elementor-widget elementor-widget-audio\" data-id=\"344f7de\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"audio.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-soundcloud-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t<iframe width=\"500\" height=\"200\" frameborder=\"no\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?visual=false&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F962538760&#038;show_artwork=false&#038;maxheight=750&#038;maxwidth=500&#038;secret_token=s-xxndjrx8uMJ&#038;auto_play=false&#038;buying=true&#038;liking=false&#038;download=false&#038;sharing=true&#038;show_comments=false&#038;show_playcount=false&#038;show_user=false&#038;color\"><\/iframe>\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-307e206 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"307e206\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>What is Clara?<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Clara is a legal operating system that digitizes and automates startup legal expertise. Patrick told me that there are a couple of things the system does; it empowers founders to do many of the tasks currently performed by lawyers including incorporation of companies, drafting agreements and many other tasks that are required for an early-stage startup.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Furthermore, Patrick mentioned that the platform has collaboration sharing tools for founders, VC (Venture Capital) investors and lawyers so that key players in the global startup ecosystem can work together a lot more efficiently.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>&#8220;We want companies to be digitally native to the platform&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Clara&#8217;s target audience is early-stage companies from idea stage to founders who haven\u2019t quit their jobs yet but are on the cusp of establishing a company through the people who may have raised initial round of investments. He further explained that as much as possible they want companies in the future to be born on Clara: &#8220;digitally native&#8221; to the platform from day 1. In order to attract very early-stage idea founders they put a lot of emphasis on the education function that Clara provides. Right now, this role is very much played by lawyers.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to Patrick, startup lawyers spend a lot of time dealing with founders, answering their questions which are the same questions over and over again. \u00a0<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">For lawyers, the business is quite simple \u2013 they try to source as many startups as they can, in most cases they won&#8217;t be profitable on those clients for about 2 years until they have completed an investment round or two. That gap is what Clara is trying to address. Patrick explained that the proposition for lawyers is to recommend founders to use Clara, it&#8217;s self-explanatory, educating the founders to do many early stage stuff through the platform while lawyers can still have access to all that information and have supervisory role. They will be able to spend 80% let time of doing those repetitive tasks but still maintain the effectiveness of the busines.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How do you onboard founders?<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 Clara is still in beta mode, so is onboarding companies selectively in order to build out certain features. In a short span of time, what the founders will see when they go to the website is a drop down with series of questions. For example \u2013 &#8220;where should I incorporate?&#8221; based on the answers to certain followup questions, in a manner of about 45 seconds the founders will know what the recommended structure is.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">As former startup lawyers, Clara&#8217;s founders know the set of questions founders always ask when they go through this exercise. Once founders \u00a0count on Clara, they can automate agreements for free, they have a license for Docusign for free, and the ability to share all the information with their lawyers and investors.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>&#8220;Make less revenue but be more profitable on every single client&#8221;<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">According to Patrick, he thought that after working as a lawyer in a big US lawfirm, he realized that the industry was ready for disruption and that clients can get better value from the amounts they are paying lawyers.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">A market disruption is simply the creation of new technologies, that eventually disrupts an existing market and reduces it&#8217;s value. I mentioned in our conversation that I think Clara is not a &#8220;pure disruption&#8221; technology, because it can work quite well along to the role of the lawyer. Patrick agreed that as the company grows than the role of the lawyer gets more and more intense. Clara&#8217;s goal is to digitize as much of the common and repetitive work as possible, which is something that lawyers will learn to appreciate very fast. In addition, Patrick encourages the state of mind of &#8220;make less revenue but be more profitable on every single client&#8221;. Lawyers don&#8217;t need to wait about 2 years so that the clients become profitable.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Lawyers play very critical function in the life of the startup, they are being trusted to assist in decision making, If they are focusing on key items of strategic importance where their expertise is really appreciated by the startup, it is critical to the startups life cycle.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><strong>How was your location a strategic decision for a legal tech startup?<\/strong><\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Clara was born in Dubai because that is where most of the founders were living when the idea was raised. Their headquarters is London for a variety of reasons, but they still have strong presence in the UAE, in both Abu Dabi and Dubai. Furthermore, the first entity that they incorporated was in Abu Dabi Global Market which is a thriving eco system is drawing in a lot of international talent.<\/span><\/p><p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span style=\"color: #000000;\">When comparing lawyers between the UAE and Israel in the startup space \u2013 Israel is way ahead than where the UAE is right now. The UAE is on the road, there is a lot of catching up to do. The tech eco system is still very much in its early days through the MENA region. Certainly, in that part of the world Clara can be a huge lead in things like creating a standard of documentation, educating founders in order to reduce the time and the cost and many other things.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Following the new normalization agreement between the UAE and Israel, I was fascinated to explore the legal tech field in the UAE, especially in Dubai. I learned about a very interesting legal tech startup that has been growing for a while in Dubai and London and had the pleasure to speak to Patrick Rogers who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":859,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,21],"tags":[28,19,14,26],"class_list":["post-855","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-podcast","category-proffesional-articals","tag-cyber-security","tag-israeli-legal-tech","tag-legaltech","tag-podcast"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":864,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855\/revisions\/864"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/techlaw.co.il\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}