Contend
Founded 2023 · 6 employees on LinkedIn · 2 known investors
Contend is an AI legal assistant that uses a large language model trained on UK legal data to explain users' legal rights in plain English and draft legal documents. It helps individuals and solo business operators with issues such as housing, employment, family, debt, traffic, and estate matters for a monthly subscription.
Also known as Contend Inc. · Contend Legal
Investors · 2
Company profile
researched Aug 2026Contend (Contend Legal) operates an online, chat-based legal information platform for consumers and solo business operators in the UK. Users describe their situation in a chat interface and receive an explanation of their legal position in plain English, a step-by-step plan of what to do next, and drafted documents such as letters to landlords, employers or councils. The company states the service covers housing and tenancy, divorce and family law, employment and discrimination, vehicles and traffic tickets, money and debt, criminal law matters, wills and estates, and small business law, and that it can direct users to a human lawyer when a matter is too complex.
The platform is explicitly not staffed by human lawyers answering questions; the company describes it as an artificial intelligence "trained like a lawyer," built by lawyers and legal experts and trained on UK legal data. Its investor describes the underlying model as leveraging English and Welsh-specific legal data. Contend lists a UK business address at 4th Floor, Silverstream House, 45 Fitzroy Street, Fitzrovia, London W1T 6EB, noting it is not a walk-in location, and says it has the support of legal experts across the UK and North America.
Founding story
Contend was founded in 2023 by Michael (Mike) Stych and William (Will) Boan, two legal sector practitioners who, after careers working with the law and legal technology, concluded that everyday legal advice was unaffordable for many people and set out to simplify the process with technology.
Business model
Direct-to-consumer subscription: users pay for a month of unlimited access to legal guidance and document drafting, with a free initial consultation offered as an entry point. Pricing starts at £39 for a month of unlimited access.
Monthly subscription fees paid by individual users, starting at £39, giving unlimited access to the chat-based guidance and document drafting app.
Traction
The company's website states that more than 150,000 people in the UK have received legal help using Contend. Its investor reported that the service had answered over 100,000 legal questions since launch. Published customer reviews on the site are dated between February and July 2025.
Latest developments
The LegalTech Fund publicly announced its investment in Contend, describing the company's AI-powered chat service and its record of answering over 100,000 legal questions, and listed Contend among three new investments in its April funds-flow newsletter.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as a low-cost alternative to hiring a solicitor for everyday UK legal problems, targeting the access-to-justice gap where advice services such as councils, Citizens Advice and free legal services have long waits or limited availability. Its investor characterises the addressable market as large and underserved.
UK-specific focus, with a model trained on English and Welsh legal data and the product built by lawyers for the UK jurisdiction; combines rights explanation, a next-steps plan and document drafting in one subscription at a price point well below traditional legal fees.
Technology
A chat interface built on a large language model that is trained on UK (English and Welsh) legal data and configured by lawyers and legal experts, used to identify relevant information for a user's issue, produce step-by-step guidance and generate drafted legal documents; the system is also described as able to recognise when a matter requires a human lawyer.
Go-to-market
Self-serve online sign-up via the company's website, with a free legal consultation as an acquisition step converting into a paid monthly subscription; customer reviews and word of mouth feature prominently on the site, and founders are described as responding directly to user queries.
Individuals in the UK facing everyday legal problems who do not want the time or cost of consulting a lawyer, including tenants, employees, people in family or debt disputes, drivers contesting traffic matters, and solo business operators.
Geography
Operates in and for the United Kingdom, with guidance based on UK (English and Welsh) law and a London business address in Fitzrovia; the company says it is supported by legal experts across the UK and North America.
History
Founded in 2023 by Mike Stych and Will Boan, the company launched a chat-based legal assistance service for the UK and reported over 100,000 legal questions answered by the time The LegalTech Fund announced its investment, which was listed alongside investments in BlackCloak and Entegrata in the fund's April newsletter. The website later reported more than 150,000 people helped.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 1
launches, deals, and filingsThe LegalTech Fund publicly announced an investment in Contend Legal, citing its AI-powered chat service for instant, affordable legal guidance; the investment was listed as one of three new fund investments alongside BlackCloak and Entegrata. No amount was disclosed.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
Legal entities · 1
corporate structureCompanies House · registry record
View on Companies House ↗- Registered name
- CONTEND LTD
- Company number
- 15515084
- Status
- Active
- Company type
- Private limited company
- Incorporated
- 22 Feb 2024
- Registered office
- 60a Station Road, Kiveton Park, Sheffield, S26 6QQ
- Nature of business (SIC)
- 43999 — Other specialised construction activities n.e.c.70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
- Accounts
- last made up to 28 Feb 2026 · next due 30 Nov 2027
- Confirmation statement
- last made up to 21 Feb 2026 · next due 7 Mar 2027
Current officers · 1
- Ashley Lee Hibberd — director, appointed 22 Feb 2024
Source: Companies House public register · retrieved 23 Aug 2026. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- Contend Legal | Get Instant Legal Helpcontendlegal.org · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does Contend do?
- UK AI legal assistant that explains users' rights in plain English and drafts legal documents from £39 a month.
- Who are Contend's investors?
- Contend's investors include LegalTech, Supernode Global.