For lawyers at firms like A&O Shearman or Slaughter and May, the standard workflow for drafting a complex contract is a high-stakes, manual slog. It involves navigating dense precedent libraries, cross-referencing clauses, and proofreading for consistency, all under the pressure of a ticking clock and a client’s multi-million dollar exposure. This is the environment where Definely, a London-based legaltech startup, has quietly embedded itself, not as a flashy new platform, but as a set of tools that live inside the Microsoft Word documents where the work already happens [Definely website].
The company, founded in 2017 by two former Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer lawyers, has just secured a $30 million Series B funding round led by Revaia, with participation from Octopus Ventures and others [TechCrunch, June 2025]. This capital injection follows a reported $7 million Series A and arrives as Definely claims significant traction within the upper echelons of the legal profession. Their customer roster now includes multiple Magic Circle and White Shoe firms, alongside in-house teams at companies like BT Group, Samsung, and Deloitte [Pulse2]. The bet is that by focusing on the granular, pre-execution stage of contract work, Definely can deliver measurable efficiency gains without asking risk-averse lawyers to abandon their core tools.
A wedge from accessibility to enterprise
Definely’s origin story is distinct in the AI-driven legaltech landscape. Co-founder Feargus MacDaeid, a registered blind lawyer, initially conceived of the tools to solve his own challenges in accessing and navigating complex legal documents [BusinessCloud]. This accessibility-first DNA translated into a product philosophy centered on intuitive, integrated assistance. Rather than building a standalone contract lifecycle management (CLM) system, Definely’s entire suite operates as a Microsoft Word add-in [Definely website]. This strategic choice lowers the adoption barrier by meeting lawyers inside their primary drafting environment.
The suite itself is a modular set of tools designed for different points in the drafting and review process.
- Vault. A clause library for inserting standardized language.
- Draft. Provides contextual editing suggestions.
- Enhance. An AI drafting assistant that the company claims can improve workflow speed by 40-70% versus a manual approach [Legal Practice Intelligence].
- Proof. An AI-powered proofreading tool focused on legal terminology and consistency.
The most recent innovation, a tool called Cascade, is described as a first-of-its-kind AI system that can detect the second and third-order impacts of a single contract edit, aiming to catch unintended consequences before they become liabilities [Nonbillable].
Traction in a conservative market
Landing elite law firms as customers is a notoriously difficult feat, serving as a strong signal of product-market fit. Definely reports its tools are now used in 30 countries and trusted by over 100 in-house legal teams and private practice firms [Feargus MacDaeid LinkedIn] [The SaaS News]. The company was also the only legaltech firm named in the 2023 Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50, indicating rapid revenue growth [Definely, 2023]. This enterprise traction likely formed the core of the narrative for its recent Series B.
The round, one of the larger European legaltech fundraises of the year, positions Definely for an aggressive expansion phase. The company has already begun bolstering its technical leadership, bringing on Bruno Belcastro in early 2025 to head its AI teams [Attorney at Work, 2025]. The new capital is earmarked for further product development, particularly around its agentic AI systems, and for scaling its commercial operations, likely with an eye on deeper penetration in the US and other key markets.
The competitive and strategic landscape
Definely operates in a crowded but fragmented sector. Its direct competition comes from other AI drafting assistants and clause library providers, as well as from the drafting modules embedded within larger CLM platforms from vendors like Icertis, DocuSign, and LinkSquares. Definely’s differentiator is its focused, Word-native approach and its early validation from the most demanding tier of the market, the global law firms that set the standard for precision.
However, this focus also presents its own set of strategic questions and risks.
- Platform dependency. Being a Word add-in creates a deep dependency on Microsoft’s ecosystem and roadmap. While this ensures smooth integration, it also means Definely’s fate is partly tied to decisions made in Redmond, including any potential competitive moves by Microsoft itself into the legal AI space.
- Expansion scope. The company’s wedge is the pre-execution drafting stage. To capture more of the contract lifecycle value, it may need to expand into negotiation, execution, and post-signature management, areas where it would face entrenched competition from the established CLM giants.
- Proving the ROI. While the company cites metrics like saving 45 minutes per lawyer per day and 40% workflow speed improvements, these are internal claims [Definely]. Widespread, independent validation of such efficiency gains in peer-reviewed studies or detailed third-party case studies would further solidify its value proposition for cost-conscious general counsel.
The standard of care in contract law
For Pulse Raman, the ultimate test for any clinical or professional AI tool is its impact on patient, or in this case, client, outcomes. In corporate law, the "disease state" is legal and financial risk arising from ambiguous or erroneous contract terms. The patient population is every corporation and institution that relies on contracts to govern its relationships and assets. The current standard of care is a labor-intensive, manual process reliant on highly paid human expertise, precedent documents, and painstaking review. It is effective but slow, expensive, and prone to human error under fatigue.
Definely’s intervention aims to act as a co-pilot in this process, reducing cognitive load and systematic error. The Series B funding is a vote of confidence that this approach can scale. The next twelve months will be critical for the company to demonstrate that its tools do not just save time, but meaningfully de-risk the contract drafting process for its blue-chip clientele. Success will be measured not just by customer count, but by the depth of integration and the tangible reduction in costly oversights.
Sources
- [Definely] Our Story | https://www.definely.com/our-story
- [TechCrunch, June 2025] Legal tech platform Definely raises $30M Series B | https://techcrunch.com/2025/06/12/legal-tech-platform-definely-raises-30M-series-b-to-make-contract-reviewing-more-efficient/
- [Definely website] Create, Draft & Review Contracts | The Definely Suite | https://www.definely.com/solutions/the-definely-suite
- [Nonbillable] Definely's 'first-of-its-kind' AI tool Cascade | https://www.nonbillable.co.uk/news/definely-cascade
- [Definely, 2023] Deloitte UK Technology Fast 50 winner | https://www.definely.com/newsroom/deloitte-uk-fast-50-winner