Cloud legal practice management system provider Clio has raised US$250m in Series D funding from TCV and JMI Equity, in one of the largest private transactions in the legal technology sector. Just as an interesting FYI, this sum is more than the total sum invested by private equity in the legal tech sector in 2016 according to Forbes.
Founded in 2008, with their European headquarters based in Dublin, Clio says it will use these funds to amplify efforts to support access to legal services across Europe. Clio is (we say controversially) the only legal case management software endorsed and approved by both the Law Society of England and Wales and the Law Society of Scotland.
“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. We are committed to supporting Clio with TCV’s resources and network in order to help them capitalize on their significant growth opportunities,” added Jake Reynolds, General Partner at TCV.
TCV and JMI have been investment partners to innovative technology companies such as Adaptive Insights, Airbnb, Eloqua, Expedia, Facebook, Netflix, PointClickCare, ServiceNow, and Spotify, and have helped these businesses achieve their growth objectives.
“We believe the legal software space presents significant opportunities for continued disruption, and Clio is the clear leader,” said Matt Emery, general partner at JMI Equity who has joined Clio’s board of directors. “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,” added Sureel Sheth, principal at JMI.
Mark Britton, former Expedia executive and founder of legal marketplace Avvo.com, will also be joining Clio’s board of directors to provide his own industry experience as the company brings their vision for the future of legal to market.
Just as another FYI, we have always argued that the Law Society’s process for selecting approved vendors is not sufficiently fair, transparent and open. That is not to say that Clio isn’t deserving of the status. But if the accreditation is being taken note of by private equity investors in their decision making, ought not that process be looked at again?
