An online service which claims to cut by 90% the cost of taking an employee case to an employment tribunal is one of the 'self-service' innovations on the bill of an event tomorrow to mark the end of the latest phase of the government-backed Lawtech Sandbox project.

Valla is designed to help employees build cases and to put them in touch with a lawyer. It is among eight innovations to be tested for their scalability and regulatory implications in the first live phase of the sandbox programme. Others in the cohort, announced last year, include an online platform to help tenants build their own housing disrepair cases without a lawyer and a ‘buy now, pay later’ system for managing the payment of legal fees by instalments.

A grammar checking-type tool for ensuring that employees stay on the right side of the law when communicating electronically was also in the cohort.

The sandbox is one of the main fruits of the LawtechUK programme, set up with £2m of central government funding in 2019. It is modelled on a previous sandbox run by the Financial Conduct Authority. 

The future of the programme is likely to be on the agenda of a virtual event tomorrow to be attended by justice minister Lord Wolfson. LawtechUK's current core funding is set to run out on 31 March. 

The Sandbox Showcase event runs on Thursday 27 January from 3pm to 5:30pm. To join the event register here.