From Hackathon to Boardroom: Our Jurispark Journey with Simmons & Simmons
Written by Dequn Teng on behalf of the team behind Jurispark
Jurispark is a collaborative project developed by Cambridge researchers to enhance legal research through large language models.
Winning a hackathon is exhilarating. But what happens next? For our team, the real adventure began months after we claimed victory at the LLMxLaw Hackathon 2.0—when we finally walked through the doors of Simmons & Simmons LLP at their impressive Ropemaker Street office in London.
The Road to December 3rd
When we first received the email from David Huston, LLM Programme Lead at Simmons Wavelength, inviting us to present our solution to their wider team, we knew this was an extraordinary opportunity. The prospect of showcasing Jurispark – our AI-powered legal research platform – to practicing lawyers and AI Champions at one of the world's leading law firms was both thrilling and daunting.
What followed was a months-long coordination effort. Summer holidays, university schedules, and the demands of a busy law firm meant we had to be patient and flexible. But throughout this process, the Simmons & Simmons team, particularly Paige Jordan from the Intellectual Property Group, remained supportive and committed to making the visit happen.
Walking Into Simmons & Simmons
On December 3rd, 2025, at 13:45, our team gathered at the reception of Simmons & Simmons LLP. The building itself was a testament to the firm's stature—modern, professional, and humming with the energy of legal work being done at the highest level.
Our team for the day included myself, Dequn Teng (PhD Engineering student at Cambridge), Linhan Su (Cambridge MBA graduate now working in the AI industry), and Xiaoting Yang (a Cambridge-based PhD student whose research focuses on persuasive AI). While our original team composition had shifted since the hackathon—our founding members Peiju Li (University of Cambridge, Master of Finance graduate) and David Adeyemi-Abere (University of Cambridge, LLM graduate) were unable to join due to prior commitments, the expertise we brought to the table remained firmly rooted in applied large language models for legal services.
A Warm Welcome
From the moment we arrived, the Simmons & Simmons team made us feel like valued collaborators rather than just hackathon winners collecting a prize. Drew Winlaw, Jezah Khamisa, and Catalina Perdomo welcomed us warmly, and it was clear they were genuinely interested in what we had built and where we planned to take it.
We had structured our 90-minute session into three parts: introductions, a demonstration of Jurispark's latest capabilities, and a forward-looking discussion about potential collaboration. This format allowed us to move beyond the typical "show and tell" of hackathon presentations into something far more substantive.
Demonstrating Jurispark
The heart of our visit was the demonstration of Jurispark's evolved capabilities. Since the hackathon, we had iterated significantly on the platform, incorporating feedback and pushing the boundaries of what AI-assisted legal research could achieve.
Presenting to an audience of legal professionals who deal with complex intellectual property matters daily was invaluable. Their questions were sharp, their insights practical, and their feedback immediately applicable. Unlike academic reviewers or fellow students, these were people who would actually use tools like ours in their daily practice. They weren't shy about telling us what would and wouldn't work in the real world.
The conversation ranged from technical architecture to user experience, from regulatory considerations to competitive landscape. Every question helped us see Jurispark through the eyes of its intended users.
Learning from Legal Professionals
Perhaps the most valuable aspect of the visit wasn't our presentation, it was the conversation that followed. The Simmons & Simmons team shared their perspective on the challenges facing modern legal practice, the opportunities they saw for AI integration, and the practical hurdles that often trip up well-intentioned legal tech solutions.
We learned about the workflows that consume lawyers' time, the friction points in existing systems, and the specific features that would move Jurispark from "interesting hackathon project" to "tool I want on my desktop." These insights were worth more than any prize money.
Building Bridges Between Academia and Practice
One theme that emerged throughout our discussions was the importance of bridges between academic research and legal practice. As Cambridge-based researchers working on AI applications, we often develop our ideas in relative isolation from the practitioners who would ultimately use our tools. This visit reminded us that the best innovation happens at the intersection of theoretical possibility and practical necessity.
The team at Simmons & Simmons demonstrated a genuine commitment to engaging with emerging technologies and the people developing them. Their willingness to host us, share their expertise, and explore collaboration opportunities speaks to a forward-thinking culture that benefits the entire legal tech ecosystem.
What Comes Next
As we left Ropemaker Street that afternoon, our heads were full of new ideas and our notebooks full of action items. The visit wasn't an ending, it was a beginning. We returned to Cambridge with clearer direction, stronger conviction, and tangible next steps for developing Jurispark into something that could genuinely transform legal research workflows.
For anyone considering participating in the next Hack the Law event, our advice is simple: the hackathon itself is just the starting point. The real value lies in the connections you make, the doors that open, and the opportunities to learn from professionals who live and breathe the problems you're trying to solve.
A Note of Thanks
We extend our sincere gratitude to everyone at Simmons & Simmons who made this visit possible, particularly Paige Jordan for her patience in coordinating schedules, David Huston for championing our visit, and Drew, Jezah, and Catalina for their generosity with their time and expertise. We also thank the Hack the Law and the E-Lab teams for facilitating this connection and for creating a hackathon that genuinely delivers on its promise of bridging innovation and legal practice.
The journey from hackathon idea to real-world impact is long, but visits like this one make clear that it's a journey worth taking.
Dequn Teng is a third-year PhD candidate in Engineering at the University of Cambridge's Institute for Manufacturing (IfM), supervised by Prof. Tim Minshall and advised by Prof. Yeun Joon Kim. His research examines human-algorithm interactions and their effects on analytical creativity and his work has appeared in leading research journals such as Science and Technovation. Teng serves on the Early Career Committee at Cambridge Human Inspired AI and has worked as a Research Assistant at Cambridge Judge Business School. He has industry experience at Deutsche Bank and Unilever, is the founder of LLM+ (llmplus.ai), and served as Vice President of the Cambridge Algorithmic Trading Society (CUATS).