Cloud law practice management company Clio is today announcing a $250 million Series D funding — one of the largest investments ever for a legal technology company and the largest ever for a Canadian company.
Clio is also announcing that Mark Britton, who founded Avvo in 2006 and sold it last year to Internet Brands, is joining its board of directors.
Clio is holding an event later today in its Vancouver headquarters to provide more details on the investment. I will attend and provide additional information as time permits. Here is what we know so far.
The investment is from two growth equity companies, TCV and JMI Equity. TCV is an investor in well-known companies such as AirBNB, Expedia, Facebook, Fandango, LinkedIn and NetFlix, and in the law-related companies Avvo and LegalZoom. JMI’s portfolio spans a broad range of industries.
Jack Newton, CEO and cofounder, said in a statement that this investment will accelerate Clio’s ability to realize its vision of enabling lawyers to more easily deliver their services and make those services more accessible.
“Over three-quarters of legal problems don’t receive legal assistance, yet lawyers are struggling to find new clients,” Newton said. “It’s clear that something in the system is broken.
“Clio is committed to building the essential operating system for lawyers, one that focuses relentlessly on unlocking new efficiencies and entry points to legal services. This will allow legal professionals to easily deliver exceptional client experiences, increase their productivity, grow their firms, and make legal services more accessible.”
Founded a decade ago as the first cloud-based practice management program, Clio has had two prior rounds of funding, totallying $26 million.
With this latest investment, the company said, it will create cloud-based solutions designed to help law firms deliver client-centered experiences and make legal services more widely accessible.
Clio said that its customers can expect to see ongoing investment in the depth and breadth of Clio’s offerings, with new and enhanced tools for legal professionals to manage and grow their practices.
“At TCV, we partner with innovative companies that are leaders in their industry and offer superior value propositions for their customers,” said Amol Helekar, principal at TCV and a member of Clio’s board of directors. “Clio has had long-standing success in transforming a vast industry that has been lagging in technology adoption and we are confident the company will
continue to lead on a global scale.”
“Clio is not only solving some of the biggest pain points for the legal profession, it is creating a platform for the future of legal services, and we look forward to partnering with the team in the company’s continued growth and success,” said Sureel Sheth, principal at JMI.
Among the largest investments in legal technology to date have been the $500 million secondary investment last year in LegalZoom, the $200 million investment this year in Onit, the $100 million investment last year in Exterro, and the $100 million investment in 2017 in Litera.