In what is rightly being labelled by Clio as a ‘historic moment in the growth of legal technology’, the legal practice management vendor has announced that it has achieved unicorn status with a valuation of $1.6bn, after raising $110m in its Series E.
“This investment is indicative of the explosive demand for legal technology that empowers lawyers to be cloud-based and client-centered,” said Jack Newton, CEO and founder of Clio.
The funding round was led by funds and accounts advised by T. Rowe Price Associates, Inc. and also included OMERS Growth Equity and Newton continued: “The support from T. Rowe Price funds and accounts and OMERS Growth Equity will enable us to continue to create a more equitable and accessible legal system by making it easier for clients and law firms to work together through cloud-based technologies.”The past year has accelerated the shift to cloud technology driven by the need for law firms to find new ways to deliver services to clients. Clio forecasts that the move to digital-first law firms is a permanent one as consumer expectations and behaviours change. Clio says that it will use the funding to further invest in its platform, strategic acquisitions, and partnerships aligned with the company’s mission to transform the legal experience for all. The funding will also expedite Clio’s plans to grow its workforce by 250 employees—an increase of 40 percent—in 2021, with a focus on bolstering its product and engineering teams to continue innovating and evolving its product offerings. “Clio has significant growth opportunities given the company’s innovative product offerings and leading market position in the legaltech space. We look forward to collaborating with the team and working to accelerate the company’s efforts to improve technology offerings to the legal industry,” said Andrew Davis director of private investments at T. Rowe Price Associates.Having secured US$6.6B across over 900 companies globally, legaltech is one of the fastest-growing sectors for investors. Funding has grown exponentially over the last few years, with total investments skyrocketing from US$1B to US$2.2B between 2018 and 2019. Clio’s 2019 $250m Series D, led by TCV and JMI Equity, was an integral part of that growth.For the latest legaltech deal data on see our exclusive tables supplied by Legalcomplex.com – scroll to the Legaltech M&A section in: The Orange Rag
For a full list of unicorn companies see CB Insights list here
