Mission: To make legal services more accessible to everyone
What it does: Operates a platform that helped law expert to simplify law processes
Size and presence: 1-50 employees
Best known for: Its focus on law-based application
The good bits: A good startup with positive reviews, a possibility for career growth, and many benefits and perks for workers
Josef’s history started with Tom Dreyfus, Sam Flynn, and Kirill Klivain. Dreyfus and Flynn were inspired by the main character from Franz Kafka’s The Trial, Josef K, who got arrested for an unknown reason and prosecuted by a mysterious authority. The duo understood that this situation is common to happen nowadays.
Previously, Flynn succeeded to create an application that helped people to fight against unfair transit fares. And after sitting with several people from community and government officials, they realized that they need a solution to tackle many legal issues. Along the way, they met Klivain, who is an experienced software engineer willing to make a social impact.
The founders then realized that they need to create a platform for legal experts, rather than creating a platform for the end users. The first version of Josef was launched in May 2018, it was a bot called Health Complaint Assist, intended to help consumers to draft a complaint to their health service provider.
Josef continues to grow fast. In the same period of time, Josef was accepted to join Startmate, a startup accelerate program. In 2019, Josef managed to raise AUS1 million from top startup venture funds and angel investors. Allowing them to make their first hire, and securing strategic pilot programs with top legal firms.
As of recent development, Josef’s clientele is coming from law firms, boutique firms & NewLaw, legal aid, in-house, and universities & law schools. It provides a platform for legal experts to work with automation and data processing. Josef’s headquarter is located in Melbourne, Australia.
Josef receives positive reviews from its employees. Some employees said that the team was full of smart and supportive people. It has an inclusive and mission-based culture. The people are friendly and thoughtful. The company’s mission gives a sense of purpose since its goal is to make an impactful meaning to a lot of people. Josef practices a remote working culture. Some employees even said that Josef is not a typical startup which is commonly known for its burnt-out culture.
Josef posted and informs everything about their job opening on its website. The applicant is expected to send their recent resume and cover letter. Josef is also open to an internship program. The company will announce the internship’s opening date. Josef prefers internship candidates from Melbourne and Sydney, although they will provide accommodation to remote for the right candidate.
The hiring process will consist of an interview with the hiring manager or other team members, technical tasks, a final interview with the founders, and a final offering.
For the internship program, Josef will give the experience to gain a better understanding of career pathways in the legal technology sector. The internship will last for 8 weeks, and interns will be expected to work 1-2 days a week with negotiable days and hours. The intern will also get rotations through marketing, product, business development, and customer success.
For graduates, there are roles you may find interesting; customer success manager, account executive, product design, DevOps engineer, legal technologist, and many more. Josef is the right place to start for those who graduate from law schools and tech faculties.
Josef’s mission itself has already covered many social areas. Its mission is to make law service accessible for everyone, helping people to gain better access to and understanding of law processes.