# Legal Tech 2028 Predictions: Where the Money Goes

> Legal Tech Circle looks out to 2028, using the tracker's long view since 2018 to show which trends have staying power and which may fade.

By The Circle Desk | Market Signals | Published 2026-10-27
Source: https://legaltechcircle.com/insights/legal-tech-2028-predictions-funding/

Two years is a long way out in a market that changes this fast, so
treat this as Legal Tech Circle's analysis of direction rather than a
list of dates. What we can do is look at the long record on our
[funding tracker](https://legaltechcircle.com/market-signals/funding-tracker/),
add the moves of the past month, and ask which trends are likely to
still matter in 2028. For the near term, see our [2026 funding
review](https://legaltechcircle.com/insights/legal-tech-funding-2026-ytd-q4/)
and [2027 outlook](https://legaltechcircle.com/insights/legal-tech-2027-outlook-q4-signals/).

## Funding Moves in Waves

The tracker shows legal tech equity funding of $1.61 billion in 2021,
$1.07 billion in 2022 and $479.0 million in 2023. Then it climbed to
$1.75 billion in 2024 and $3.84 billion in 2025, the highest year on
our tracker. 2026 stands at $2.96 billion so far. The pattern is
clear: big years have been followed by sharp pullbacks. Our call is
that at least one year between now and 2028 comes in well below 2025.
We are not predicting when, only that the history on the tracker does
not support a straight line up.

## Two Leaders Under Pressure to Exit

Harvey's most recent round on the tracker valued it at $15.5 billion.
Legora's Series E this month valued it at $8.8 billion. At those
sizes, the question for 2028 is less about the next round and more
about how investors eventually get paid back. We think the most likely
paths are a public listing or a large strategic deal for at least one
of them by 2028. That is a question to track, not a forecast of a
specific event, and neither company has announced plans.

## New Ways to Fund Legal Work

Not all the money in legal will look like software funding. Teddy AI,
a legal services and compliance startup,
[announced](https://www.law.com/legaltechnews/2026/10/07/legal-services-startup-teddy-ai-announces-60m-seed-round-/)
a $60 million seed round and said it has passed $25 million in
revenue, according to Law.com, without naming investors or leadership.
We have not added it to the tracker while we confirm how to classify
it. Our view is that by 2028, more capital goes into owning or running
legal services businesses directly, not only into selling tools to
them.

Legal help is also moving into business software. SixFifty, owned by
Paychex, [launched](https://www.paychex.com/newsroom/news-releases/sixfifty-agentic-hr-compliance-specialist)
an AI agent for employment compliance and says its team tracked more
than 440 employment law changes across nearly 130 jurisdictions in the
past year. We expect more routine compliance work to sit inside
payroll, HR and finance systems by 2028.

## Rules Get Written Down

Courts and law reform bodies are moving from reacting to cases to
setting rules. New York's court system has a model rule requiring
attorneys who use AI to verify what it produces, and has now [issued
guidance](https://www.fingerlakesdailynews.com/local/new-york-courts-issue-guidance-on-ai-use-in-legal-filings/)
on the risks. The Law Commission of Ontario [presented 29
recommendations](https://www.lawtimesnews.com/news/general/law-commission-pitches-laws-frameworks-for-ai-use-in-criminal-justice/393553)
for AI in criminal justice, including new provincial legislation and
governance frameworks. Our call is that by 2028 most major court
systems will have written AI rules, and vendors will design products
around them.

## Seed Stays the Pipeline

Seed and pre seed rounds were the largest stage group on the tracker
in both 2025, with 56 rounds, and 2026, with 19 so far. Even with
fewer rounds overall, new companies keep forming. The companies
raising seed rounds now are the ones that would be raising Series B
rounds in 2028.

## Common Questions

**How far back does the tracker go?**

It includes rounds back to 2012. Earlier years have far fewer entries,
so we use them for direction, not precise comparisons.

**Why is Teddy AI not on the tracker?**

We are still deciding whether it counts as a legal tech company or a
legal services company. It will be added if it fits our criteria.

**Are these predictions investment advice?**

No. They are Legal Tech Circle's reading of public data and announcements.

## What to Watch

Watch whether the 2026 total holds near $3 billion, whether either
leader hires for a public listing, and whether other court systems
follow New York's lead. Those three signals will tell us early whether
this 2028 picture is on track.

---
Legal Tech Circle (https://legaltechcircle.com/). News and analysis, not legal advice.