SUCCESS
AI pioneers – husband-and-wife team Rob and Ali Boville lead the way on both BearTech and Automate Legal.
From Teesside to the LegalTech frontier
LegalTech unleashed – Rob and Ali Boville say Automate Legal’ s Jurana platform will cut workloads around legal cost drafting by up to 80 %.
How BearTech and Automate Legal are putting the North-East on the AI map
When Rob and Ali Boville launched BearTech in 2023, they had one clear goal – to prove that worldclass technology could be built right here in the North-East.
In just 18 months, the husband-and-wife team have turned that vision into reality, creating one of the UK’ s fastest-growing tech consultancies and a dedicated LegalTech business that’ s already winning attention nationwide.
Teesside-headquartered BearTech’ s mission is simple but ambitious: help organisations solve complex, timeconsuming problems using practical AI and smart automation.
From modernising charity systems for St John Ambulance to delivering AI strategies for law firms, their work blends deep technical expertise with a clear focus on real-world impact.
But their proudest achievement so far is Automate Legal – the Bovilles’ spinout company that’ s redefining one of the most painstaking tasks in law: legal cost drafting.
Their flagship platform, Jurana, can prepare and validate complex legal bills in minutes rather than months, cutting workload by up to 80 %. It’ s already in use by UK law firms, with early adopters reporting that the AI-powered approach has the potential to reshape their entire workflow.
“ We didn’ t want to build AI just for the sake of it,” says Rob, CEO of Automate Legal.” Jurana exists to give skilled professionals more time to focus on the work that matters – the parts of their job where they add the most value.”
Jurana has quickly evolved beyond its original focus, with a roadmap that includes AI solutions for residential conveyancing, probate and mergers and acquisitions. Automate Legal’ s ambition is to serve 40 % of the UK legal drafting market within five years.
The Bovilles’ success isn’ t just about technology – it’ s about culture. Rob and Ali have built their 22-strong team around trust, opportunity and a commitment to growing North-East talent.
“ We’ ve been helped by so many people here, and we want to repay that by
Discover more about BearTech and Automate Legal at beartech. dev and automate. legal creating lasting opportunities,” says Ali, BearTech’ s CEO.
It’ s a philosophy that’ s already paying off. Between BearTech and Automate Legal, they expect to create up to 80 new jobs in the region over the next two years.
And with a client list that spans UK law firms, multinational businesses and even NASA, they’ re showing you don’ t have to move to London or Silicon Valley to build a global tech company.
“ We believe the next billion-pound tech business can be built from here,” says Ali.“ And we’ re determined to make it happen.”
The voice of business in the Tees region | 83