Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

What Liquid Legal Institute e.V. does

Liquid Legal Institute e.V. (LLI) is a Munich-based, German-registered non-profit association (eingetragener Verein, Amtsgericht München VR 207699) founded in 2016 that operates as an international think tank on legal transformation. It functions as a neutral, interdisciplinary platform connecting the full legal ecosystem — corporate legal departments, law firms, legal tech companies, Legal Process Outsourcing providers, public-sector justice and administration bodies, and legal academia — through member-driven working groups, roundtables, events, and research projects. The organization does not develop commercial technology products; instead it produces frameworks, publications, and open-source resources, including four volumes in the Liquid Legal Springer Series, GitBook and GitHub repositories covering legal ontologies, text analytics, and the Common Legal Platform, and structured outputs such as the Legal Ethics Code and the Generative AI Scorecard.

LLI's portfolio is organized around initiatives and sub-brands: the Digital Leaders Exchange and Legal Foresight Office for knowledge exchange and foresight research, the Annual Liquid Legal Summit and Liquid Experience Calls for events, the International Hackathon and Law Law Land for cross-disciplinary design work, and the Liquid Legal Fund for project funding. Revenue is generated through three streams: recurring membership fees from corporate, individual, and institutional members across the legal sector; commissioned research projects for organizations seeking transformation insights; and event and workshop fees. Pricing is not publicly disclosed, and membership applications are handled through a dedicated process.

Distribution combines first-party channels (the institute's website, Mailchimp newsletter, LinkedIn, X, and member-only Microsoft Teams workspace) with third-party reach via Springer's academic distribution and the OpenWebSearch.EU Horizon-funded research community. Notable partners include the University of Twente, fingolex, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) for the Accessibility and DEI in Legal roundtable series, Deloitte on the Share Purchase Agreement standardization project, and LECare GmbH for the Human-centered Leadership Circle. Governance is led by co-founder Roger Strathausen and a management board under § 26 BGB comprising Kai Jacob (Chairman), Dr. Dierk Schindler (Executive Director), and Dr. Bernhard Waltl.

Name

Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Legal name

Liquid Legal Institute e.V.

Website

https://liquid-legal-institute.com

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Liquid Legal Institute e.V. is a German non-profit think tank that convenes corporate legal departments, law firms, legal tech companies, academia, and government through working groups, publications, and events to drive legal transformation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Legal Industry Research and Transformation Services

NAICS

Legal Services (5411), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720), Offices of Lawyers (541110)

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111), Miscellaneous Publishing (2741)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Reference (Statutes, Case Law, Practice Guides) (EDAGAGAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Law School Research Centers & Institutes (e.g., Law & Economics, Human Rights) (EDAHAIAJ), Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Legal transformation research
• Legal industry think tank
• Open-source legal resources
• Legal community events
• Legal innovation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Ottobrunn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: The Liquid Legal Institute generates revenue through membership fees from corporate members, individual members, and institutional partners. Members represent the entire legal sector including legal departments, law firms, legal tech companies, LPOs, and other novel service providers.
2. Commissioned research: The organization conducts commissioned research projects for organizations seeking insights into legal transformation, digitalization, and innovation in the legal sector.
3. Event fees and workshops: Revenue generated from events including the Annual Liquid Legal Summit, workshops, and specialized programs for members.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Liquid Legal Institute e.V. is an international, independent, community-led think tank that drives the transformation of the legal industry through research, publications, working groups, events, and open-source resources. Its commercially contracted offerings are corporate, individual, and institutional memberships, commissioned research and consulting projects, paid workshops, and the annual international Liquid Legal Summit.

Product overview

Liquid Legal Institute e.V. is an international think tank on legal transformation, operating as a non-profit association rather than a single product company. The organization offers a portfolio of publications (the Liquid Legal Springer book series), open-source resources (GitHub repositories and GitBook publications), working groups and roundtables (covering topics like generative AI, legal ethics, contract management, and legal design thinking), events (Annual Liquid Legal Summit, hackathons, Liquid Experience Calls), and research initiatives (Legal Foresight Office, Digital Leaders Exchange). The core offerings include research publications, community-driven working groups, and platforms for knowledge exchange among legal professionals, law firms, legal tech companies, and other stakeholders in the legal ecosystem.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Liquid Legal Fund: A fund initiative under the Liquid Legal Institute focused on supporting legal transformation projects.
• Legal Foresight Office
• Digital Leaders Exchange

Products and services

• Membership Program (Corporate, Institutional, Individual)
• Commissioned Research and Consulting
• Liquid Legal Summit and Workshops
• Liquid Legal Book Series (Springer)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 200 law firms representing nearly 100,000 legal professionals engaged in AI research
• +1 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of TwentecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in the LAW4OSAI (License-Aware Web Crawling for Open Search AI) project, which is part of the OpenWebSearch.EU community. The project focuses on bridging legal expertise and technological advancements in web search, ensuring that web crawling and search technologies respect the rights of content creators.
• fingolexcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration partner in the LAW4OSAI project focused on license-aware web crawling for open search AI. fingolex contributes expertise in legal technology solutions.
• OpenWebSearch.EUminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAW4OSAI project is part of the OpenWebSearch.EU community, which is funded by the European Union's Horizon research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101070014.
• ACC (Association of Corporate Counsel)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on the 'Accessibility and DEI in Legal' roundtable series. The partnership brings together a global community to explore themes of accessibility and diversity in the legal profession.
• LECare GmbHminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSupporter of the Human-centered Leadership Circle initiative. LECare provides support for programs focused on maintaining human values in leadership within the legal sector.
• Polaris Media GmbHminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerConsulting, design, and implementation partner responsible for the website development and technical maintenance of the Liquid Legal Institute's digital platforms.
• DeloitteminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerProject resource for the Standardization of Share Purchase Agreement (SPA) project. Deloitte provides expertise and resources for developing a standardized SPA template for small- and mid-size private M&A transactions.
• GAIA-XminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGAIA-X is a European initiative for the development of an open, sovereign data infrastructure. The Liquid Legal Institute has participated in discussions about how the Common Legal Platform relates to and integrates with GAIA-X infrastructure.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Legaltech Hub: Legaltech Hub is a research and market intelligence platform for the legal technology industry, providing reports, vendor analysis, and community resources. Comparable to LLI in serving the legal tech ecosystem with research, frameworks, and a professional community.
• ILTA (International Legal Technology Association): ILTA is a major international membership organization for legal technology professionals, producing peer-driven content, conferences, and working groups on legal tech adoption. Directly comparable to LLI in serving corporate legal departments and law firms with community-led research and events.
• Center for Legal Informatics (Stanford CodeX): Stanford CodeX is a research center focused on legal informatics, computational law, and legal technology. Directly comparable to LLI in researching the intersection of law and technology, producing publications, and convening interdisciplinary communities around legal transformation.

Others

• Reinvent Law (now incorporated into Nesta / other initiatives): Reinvent Law was a community and research initiative focused on legal innovation, with a similar interdisciplinary, publication-driven model. Comparable to LLI in its open, collaborative approach to legal transformation content and community, though now operating under different organizational structures.
• Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF): CCAF is an academic research center producing global research reports and convening interdisciplinary communities around financial innovation. Comparable to LLI in its research-report-driven, community-led model applied to a different domain, illustrating the think-tank operational pattern.
• ITechLaw Association: ITechLaw is an international membership organization for lawyers in technology law, producing publications, conferences, and working groups on law and technology. Comparable to LLI in convening interdisciplinary legal technology communities and producing reference content, though with a more legal-practitioner focus.

Regional players

• European Legal Tech Association (ELTA): ELTA is a European association promoting legal technology adoption across the continent. Comparable to LLI in fostering a community of legal tech stakeholders and producing thought leadership, though more regionally focused and more trade-association oriented.

Emerging players

• Legal AI Hub (by Legaltech Hub): Legal AI Hub focuses specifically on AI tools and use cases in legal practice, producing surveys and analysis of AI adoption in law firms. Closely comparable to LLI's First Global Report on AI in Legal Practice and Generative AI working group activities.

Broad incumbents

• Thomson Reuters Institute: Thomson Reuters Institute is the research and thought leadership arm of Thomson Reuters, producing major reports on the legal profession, legal technology adoption, and the future of law. Directly comparable to LLI's research publication and community-building activities, though operating with vastly greater resources and proprietary data.
• Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory: Wolters Kluwer is a major legal information and software provider that publishes extensive legal research, industry reports, and thought leadership content. Comparable to LLI in producing professional legal reference content and industry analysis, though as part of a much larger commercial portfolio.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• GitHubgithub.com/Liquid-Legal-Institute
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/liquid-legal-institute

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Liquid Legal Institute e.V.