A Lawrence-based legal software platform, announced $2.8 million in seed financing last week with Nova Partners, LLC of Kansas City, as the lead investor.

eDepoze, which allows for secure document upload and sharing tailored to the litigation process, “will use the funds to continue expansion of its litigation software platform, grow its base of law firm and corporate legal clients and expand its team,” said Thadd Hale, Chief Operating Officer, eDepoze.

Lawrence residents Hale and co-founder Shawn Kennedy founded eDepoze in 2013, inspired to solve the problem of having to print, ship and carry large amounts of paper during the litigation process.

Users can upload their documents to the cloud-based platform and selectively share them with witnesses and other deposition participants, creating a product that’s tailored to a specific, but large, audience.

“eDepoze solves a very costly and inefficient problem,” said Hale. “Our software takes the paper out of the process, while mimicking the tried and true process they use with paper.”

eDepoze: What Is It and How Does It Work? from eDepoze on Vimeo.

eDepoze aims to increase technology-adoption in the legal industry

“Discovery,” or the process of gathering and sharing evidence in a legal case, has seen technological advancements in recent years with software companies such as Advanced Discovery (also founded by Hale) which offers niche technological help to attorneys. But litigation remains incredibly paper-heavy according to Hale.

“The legal industry as a whole is a little behind the times when it comes to technology,” he said. “We have gained a good foothold over the last 18 months and there is significant room for improvement.”

As part of the funding-round exchange, Nova Partners’ Troy Gregory will join eDepoze’s board.

“We think eDepoze is going to play a key role in modernizing the legal industry,” Gregory said in a media release. “The company is led by an impressive team of legal market insiders, and it has seen a lot of early success in delivering its solution to the market.”

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Alex Garrison works as a technology trainer and freelance writer, teacher and web developer. Before jumping into I.T., she was a reporter and web editor in Northeast Kansas. She lives in Omaha, but is a Lawrence townie at heart.