Cost of Legal Technology Platform Initiative and Target Take-up Rate Amongst Lawyers

9 Mr Murali Pillai asked the Minister for Law (a) to date, how much has been spent by the Government on the Legal Technology Platform Initiative (LTPI); and (b) what are the targets for the take-up rate amongst lawyers upon the launch of the LTPI.

Mr K Shanmugam: The Legal Technology Platform (LTP) is a legal matters management tool that offers integration with commonly-used legal technology solutions, such as for document management, practice management and so on. The Ministry is working with a technology provider on the integration of its base platform with these solutions, as well as Singapore-specific features that are co-developed with the industry. Through this initiative, law firms can look forward to greater convenience, seamlessness and support in their journey of technology adoption, enabling them to more efficiently and effectively manage their matters digitally.

The Government has set aside about $11 million for the first two phases of development of the Singapore-specific features of LTP and its integration with commonly-used solutions. The project is currently in the first phase of development and about half of this amount has been incurred to date. Beyond the development cost, the Ministry is exploring grants to defray the subscription cost of LTP and selected LTP-integrated solutions for the early adopters. The LTP is expected to be launched in the second quarter of this year, after the first phase of development is complete.

The LTP aims to onboard 1,300 users from small and medium-sized Singapore law practices within the first three years of its launch. Past legal technology initiatives have shown that it will take time to generate sufficient industry take-up. We will continue to work with the industry after launch to improve the platform and add more features in the second phase of development.