Spellbook
A small business making a big impact in the legal technology space
Artificial intelligence (AI) constitutes one of the most significant technological advancements of our time, with Canada's AI ecosystem ranking among the top globally. Spellbook, headquartered in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, has developed an innovative offering within the legal tech industry, exemplifying the rapid progress of artificial intelligence and its application in specialized sectors.
Spellbook launched in 2022 and was designed to assist lawyers by automating the drafting and reviewing of legal documents using generative AI technology. Spellbook leverages OpenAI’s GPT-4 and other large language models (LLMs) to analyze and generate legal text. It has been tuned to provide accurate and contextually relevant suggestions for lawyers working on transactional legal documents. It is on pace to process over 10 million contracts per year and is used by 2500+ law firms and in-house legal teams in over 50 countries. The tool integrates seamlessly with Microsoft Word, allowing users to draft, review, and revise contracts directly within the application. Lawyers can use Spellbook to uncover potential risks, identify inconsistencies, and ensure compliance with specific legal requirements. Importantly, by automating routine tasks, Spellbook allows lawyers to focus on more complex and strategic aspects of their work, ultimately improving efficiency and productivity.
Since its launch, Spellbook has made significant strides in the legal tech market. It has raised substantial funding to support its development and expansion. In 2023, Spellbook secured $15 (CAD) million in funding to enhance its AI capabilities and bring AI to more legal professionals. By early 2024, the company had raised an additional $27 (CAD) million, underscoring the growing demand for AI-driven legal tools.
In August 2024, the company launched Spellbook Associate, the first full-fledged AI agent designed specifically for legal work. Associate can plan, execute, check its work, and adapt to accomplish larger scope assignments. It can use a single prompt to effectively work through legal matters such as producing complete financing documents from a term sheet, reviewing hundreds of documents for risks and inconsistencies and revising employment packages.
The Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) has been a significant supporter of Spellbook. ACOA provided funding during the early development and growth stages. The agency's ongoing support has been crucial in enabling Spellbook to utilize advanced technologies and enhance its market presence and network.
The history of Spellbook exemplifies the transformative potential of artificial intelligence in specialized fields such as law. By integrating advanced AI technology with a comprehensive understanding of legal processes, Spellbook has developed an offering that significantly enhances the efficiency of legal professionals while establishing a new benchmark for AI applications within the legal industry. As this technology continues to advance, Spellbook is well-positioned to play an increasingly pivotal role in shaping the future of legal practice.
"ACOA's support was instrumental in Spellbook's success. We simply wouldn't exist without it. Headquartered here in St. John's, we built the very first generative AI copilot for lawyers. Today it services 2500+ legal teams in over 50 countries. We've now been able to raise nearly CAD$40m in private investment, building a team of 65+ employees (and quickly growing). But it took four years to get to our breakout moment, and we wouldn't have made it through that without ACOA's support." - Scott Stevenson, CEO & Co-Founder, Spellbook