Ex-Kirkland lawyer lands $1m for funds-focused tech startup

Legal tech startup Navys has raised $1 million in pre-seed funding to modernise limited partner interest transfers for funds lawyers and professionals, in a play on efficiency.

Backed by The LegalTech Fund, Navys was founded by ex-Kirkland funds associate Amr Jomaa.

LP transfers often come with a surprising amount of operational work, involving information gathering, internal approvals and coordination among fund lawyers, GPs and LPs, much of it still handled through email or manual processes.

The pitch

Targeting law firms and GPs, Navys’ pitch rests on its founder’s background as a former funds lawyer, with the product designed around day-to-day LP transfer workflows rather than generic deal management.

The platform centralises document review, approvals and communications to reduce bottlenecks and improve visibility in the transfer process. According to Navys, LP transfers can be completed up to 80% faster using its platform, while significantly reducing emails.

The LegalTech Fund co-founder and managing partner Zach Posner said: "Navys has taken a messy process and turned it into something clear and manageable."

One of the main drivers of transfer activity is the growth of the secondary market. Secondary transactions are now a routine part of private markets, with global volumes reaching around $103 billion in the first half of 2025, up about 50% on the same period last year, according to investment bank Jefferies.

A familiar path

Navys is not the only example of an ex-Kirkland lawyer moving into private markets technology. Earlier this year, ex-Kirkland partner Joel Arnell raised $5.5 million in seed funding for his startup Dealstack, a platform automating private capital workflows such as cap table management, waterfall calculations and quarterly reporting.

A focused bet

Unlike broader legal tech products targeting drafting or research such as a Harvey or Spellbook, Navys is taking a narrower approach by focusing on a single, high-friction funds workflow.

As secondary activity and portfolio churn increase, the company is betting that LP transfers will become a clear target for specialist automation.