In
the
least
surprising
news
of
the
day,
Litera
has
acquired
a
company.
Litera’s
strategic
vision
—
sometimes
more
like
a
mythic
quest
—
involves
building
the
ultimate
end-to-end
law
firm
software
empire
and
the
company
is
always
on
the
lookout
for
providers
offering
unique
technologies
that
fit
into
the
overall
mosaic.
Over
the
years,
they’ve
steadily
added
to
their
growing
suite
of
legal
technology
solutions,
from
bringing
AI-powered
contract
analysis
into
the
fold
with
Kira
Systems
to
expanding
their
grip
on
firm
management
with
BigSquare.
The
holiday
season
may
be
in
the
rearview
mirror,
but
Litera
still
has
a
hankering
for
some
peppermint.
Specifically,
Litera
has
now
acquired
Peppermint
Technology,
a
UK-based
Microsoft
partner
specializing
in
cloud-based
CRM,
matter
management,
and
business
development
tools.
With
Peppermint,
they’re
doubling
down
on
deep
Microsoft
integration
—
because
lawyering
in
the
2020s
is
a
never-ending
cycle
of
living
inside
Word,
Outlook,
and
Teams
and
stepping
away
from
the
computer
to
complain
about
Word,
Outlook,
and
Teams.
Peppermint’s
flagship
product,
CX365,
functions
as
a
bit
of
a
legal
Swiss
Army
knife
built
on
Microsoft
technology.
The
offering
combines
CRM,
enterprise
relationship
management
(ERM),
and
case
&
matter
management
into
one
system
so
law
firms
can
track
clients,
manage
relationships,
and
streamline
workflows
without
toggling
between
different
apps.
For
Litera,
this
acquisition
looks
to
bolster
firm-wide
connectivity.
As
Litera
CEO
Avaneesh
Marwaha
put
it:
The
combined
offerings
from
Litera
and
Peppermint
Technology
will
empower
law
firms
to
excel
in
client
engagement
and
operational
efficiency
directly
in
the
Microsoft
tools
they
use
every
day.
We
are
excited
to
both
integrate
Peppermint’s
innovative
solutions
into
our
portfolio
and
partner
with
Microsoft,
accelerating
Litera’s
mission
to
transform
top-to-bottom
the
entire
legal
experience
and
give
our
clients
efficiencies
they
did
not
imagine
possible.
Mike
Wilson,
Managing
Partner
at
Blake
Morgan,
already
used
both
products
and
sees
nothing
but
upside
in
the
tie-up:
“As
mutual
customers
of
both
Litera
and
Peppermint,
we
are
excited
about
the
opportunities
this
acquisition
presents
for
our
lawyers,
enabling
seamless
access
to
some
of
our
most
utilised
applications
within
the
cloud.”
Steve
Jobs
once
challenged
engineers
to
cut
Mac
boot
times
by
pointing
out
that
if
five
million
people
used
Macs,
saving
just
10
seconds
a
day
turning
it
on
adds
up
to
100
lifetimes
a
year.
That
spirit
drives
Litera’s
seemingly
insatiable
appetite
for
other
companies,
attempting
to
give
lawyers
the
means
to
use
a
single
ecosystem
where
they
can
manage
everything
without
wasting
time
switching
around.
Or,
at
the
very
least,
fewer
tabs
open
in
Chrome.
Sorry…
Microsoft
Edge.
Joe
Patrice is
a
senior
editor
at
Above
the
Law
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
Feel
free
to email
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments.
Follow
him
on Twitter or
Bluesky
if
you’re
interested
in
law,
politics,
and
a
healthy
dose
of
college
sports
news.
Joe
also
serves
as
a
Managing
Director
at
RPN
Executive
Search.