Lawtech Sandbox Diaries: SettleIndex

Settling a financial dispute can be a lengthy and expensive process. Before litigating, it's essential to understand the risks and whether they are worth it. This could include how much it might cost to settle the dispute, how much you could gain, or willing to lose.

SettleIndex, a litigation decision and risk analysis platform, enables lawyers to construct financial models for disputes, visualise case outcomes, track case progress, and collect structured litigation data.

SettleIndex co-founder Zac Best explains how it helps lawyers and clients make better lawsuit judgements. "Settleindex lets lawyers model potential scenarios and apply probability weightings to each model to make faster, better, risk-based choices in complex disputes. It streamlines and simplifies the procedure, exceeding any spreadsheet capabilities.”

What SettleIndex gained from the Lawtech Sandbox

• Go-to-market strategy and business model support

• Access to expert knowledge

• Product pilots in law firms

• New partnership opportunities

SettleIndex had already participated in a number of accelerator programmes including, MDR Lab, Lloyd’s Lab and Australian law firm Lander & Rogers’ Legal Tech Hub. What attracted SettleIndex to the Lawtech Sandbox was the ability to get direct feedback from industry experts on their business model and go-to-market strategy.

“We were assigned an excellent mentor whose background and skill set were aligned with what we were hoping to get out of the programme,” says Best. “Each of our meetings had a focus area and objective which helped us really hone in on potential market opportunities.”

“Our mentor made some law firm introductions, a couple of which have translated into pilots, which has been an unexpected bonus. They also identified some interesting new focus areas along with potential partnership opportunities,” added Best.

SettleIndex after the Sandbox

Right now, Best and his team are helping SettleIndex’s clients roll out the product. “We only launched in early 2022, so our clients are just beginning to implement the product and we are supporting them through this process,” he says. “The Sandbox influenced our go-to-market strategy and gave us a few ideas we hadn’t previously considered. We made several key connections that included other founders, mentors, and advisors and met lots of interesting people. Some of those connections have developed into commercial relationships.”

Best attributes LawtechUK in helping boost SettleIndex’s competitive position. “Our two closest competitors are not UK businesses, so we were fortified by LawtechUK’s support, which gave us contacts, market exposure and other benefits that are especially valuable for an early-stage company,” says Best. “We feel privileged to participate in the Lawtech Sandbox, and benefit from its support.”