nQueue has merged with legal tech startup Zebraworks to launch a cloud-based platform, following a spin off from parent company Reckon.
Today nQueue, a prominent figure in printing, scanning and cost recovery solutions in the legal industry, have declared three significant moves stemming from their spinoff from parent company Reckon. Immediately following this split they have merged with legal tech startup Zebraworks, forming a new independent, private company called nQueue Zebraworks Inc. Notably they have oversubscribed in their series A funding round for this new company.
Whilst Reckon remains an investor, this should not subtract from the transformational potential that this spinoff and merger could bring. The move will see the reuniting of nQueue CEO Rick Hellers with legal tech visionary Bill Bice. Since writing ProLaw as an 18-year-old and selling it onto Thompson Reuters in 2001, Bice has founded West km, the first widely adopted legal management system, shortly followed by Exemplify, which was then acquired by Bloomberg Law and now powers its draft Analyser. Within just the last year, Bice alongside his team have worked to construct Zebraworks integration platform.
After collaborating in the late 90’s and then at Thompson Reuters in 2002, Hellers and Bice look set to thrive working alongside each other again. “There is enormous opportunity here, but I think I’m actually most excited about working with Bill and his team again,” commented Heller. ProLaw and Thompson Reuters veterans Ben Morin (CTO), and Stef Odom (VP Operations) will also be joining nQueue, alongside Ken Bassham who was already functioning as the CRO of both companies.
Aware of the appeal of law firms to transition work to the cloud, which has only been exaggerated by COVID-19, the company plans to build a platform for a variety of cloud-based tools. These would be diverse enough to near enough run an entire firm, with complete access, from wherever staff are. These tools are set to be the product of both in-house developments, as well as via partnership. nQueue’s cost recovery, print and scan tools will be part of the platform, and Worldox has already signed on.
“There was already a strong trend among law firms to move their technology to the cloud, even before COVID-19. The pandemic has amplified that. The fact is, the era of all legal work being done inside the law office’s walls is over—and lawyers need to access their data wherever they are. This deal helps us get our clients to the cloud faster,” adds Hellers.
With an aggressive roadmap, this company is set to launch two new products this year: ScanQ which will allow scanning from mobile devices and the ability to manage and route scanned documents from anywhere, and CollectionQ, which will simplify firms’ processes around collecting invoices.
“This may be the most exciting period in the history of legal tech. There has been a lot of investment and a lot of great products developed,” says Bice. “That, however, had required people to go to too many different places to run their firm. In a way it’s the same problem we solved with ProLaw years ago. The difference is, back then we solved it by creating a single product. Today we will solve it by creating an integrated platform that can combine both existing and new solutions.”
