Almost every profession has adopted the use of tablets and other devices in an effort to decrease their use of paper documents. But attorneys haven't gotten the memo.
Many still lug binders or even boxes worth of documents into court to advocate for their clients. Minneapolis startup SupraBook hopes to change that.
"The process of printing legal documents is ridiculous," said Jesse Okiror, an attorney and CEO of SupraBook. "They're already stored digitally, then you print them out and put them in a binder. It's time-consuming and expensive."
Okiror had been dealing with cumbersome legal binders his whole career and never enjoyed the practice.
"But I figured that's the way it is – that's what you have to do," he said. "Eventually I realized that people are tired of the way it's always been done, and they're investing to change it."
So far, the company has raised $250,000 from friends and familiy and is currently in the process of raising a $500,000 seed round. SupraBook has around 100 active users since its launch in May. The company plans to eventually charge about $50 per month for its service.
SupraBook was founded in 2017 by Okiror and his brother, Simon, who serves as chief marketing officer. Okiror said that he was on the verge of making partner at his law firm, but after six years of practicing law, he decided to step down and focus on SupraBook full time.
The company graduated from the Beta.MN incubator program in April. Last month, it was named one of 12 companies in this year's Duke Law Tech Lab accelerator cohort. Simon is also one of five local entrepreneurs currently participating in Fueled Collective's Diverse Founders Fellowship.
SupraBook's app lets lawyers import legal case files; highlight, annotate and bookmark sections of documents; download their work so they can access it without internet connection; and then share the modified document with associates.
Okiror said that it saves lawyers and paralegals from having to deliver hard copies and notes back and forth. Users also have the option of emailing binders or documents to those not on the platform.
The company claims that its service could save 12,000 sheets of paper and $20,700 per lawyer each year.
"One of our biggest growth drivers has been referrals," Okiror said. "Lawyers are really, really eager for a solution to this problem."
