Authorized know-how firm Clio has accomplished its $1 billion acquisition of vLex, marking the conclusion of the biggest deal in authorized tech historical past, and has concurrently closed a $500 million Collection G funding spherical, together with a $350 million debt facility, valuing the mixed firm at $5 billion, and clearing the best way to maneuver ahead on creating an unprecedented unified platform that spans each the enterprise and apply of regulation.
With the deal now closed, Clio turns into an organization with $400 million in annual recurring income and a buyer base of 400,000 authorized professionals, it says.
At the moment’s twin bulletins cap an awfully compressed 180-day interval throughout which Clio executed the biggest acquisition in authorized tech historical past whereas securing substantial new financing – all whereas constructing and launching main new merchandise that debuted at its ClioCon convention in October.
“This can be a defining second for Clio and for the authorized trade,” stated Jack Newton, Clio’s founder and CEO. “We based Clio to rework the authorized expertise for all, and this milestone brings that mission to a brand new horizon.”
The transaction brings vLex’s 350-plus staff – together with consultants in regulation, knowledge and know-how – into Clio’s group, creating what Newton calls “the world’s strongest authorized intelligence platform, a platform that can outline how authorized work is completed for generations to come back.”
The acquisition, which was originally announced on June 30, 2025, acquired remaining regulatory approval from Spanish authorities in late October, clearing the best way for it to shut.
The finalization of this mega-deal brings collectively Clio’s cloud-based authorized working system, reportedly utilized by greater than 200,000 authorized professionals globally, with vLex’s complete authorized analysis platform and its Vincent AI assistant, which serves 2.8 million registered customers throughout greater than 110 international locations.
(Clio stated that variety of 2.8 million customers displays everything of vLex’s partnerships, together with tutorial and nonprofit partnerships, a few of which Clio doesn’t rely as a part of its mixed buyer rely of 400,000.)
A Whirlwind 180 Days
In an unique LawSites interview Thursday with Newton and Chief Monetary Officer Curt Sigfstead, earlier than the 2 flew off to vLex headquarters in Barcelona to rejoice the closing, Newton advised me that he first met with vLex CEO Lluís Faus precisely 180 days earlier than the deal formally closed final week – a remarkably compressed timeline for executing not solely a $1 billion acquisition, but additionally the Collection G financing and an accompanying $350 million debt facility.
“I’ve by no means been so happy with what the group’s been in a position to execute on in a compressed timeframe at Clio,” Newton advised LawSites. “And on high of that, we constructed a extremely phenomenal and impactful new product within the type of Clio Work and launched that and had that in clients’ arms the week after ClioCon.”
Newton’s ClioCon keynote, during which he unveiled the corporate’s imaginative and prescient for an “Clever Authorized Work Platform,” generated extraordinary response throughout the authorized trade. The keynote has garnered greater than 20,000 views on YouTube, and Newton stated the response prolonged far past Clio’s present buyer base.
“It felt prefer it was the shot heard around the globe and folks actually perceive a transparent imaginative and prescient of how AI was going to rework the apply of regulation,” Newton advised me. “This concept of marrying the enterprise of regulation and apply of regulation, within the particular manner we’ve executed with this new clever authorized work platform, clearly struck a chord.”
Integration Already Underway
Even earlier than closing the deal, Clio had moved rapidly to leverage the capabilities vLex delivered to the desk. At its ClioCon convention in Boston in October, held earlier than the regulatory approval was finalized however with the deal’s closure anticipated, Newton unveiled an ambitious suite of new products constructed across the vLex acquisition.
Associated: Here’s A Guide To Help You Make Sense of Clio’s New Line Up of Products and Features.
These included Clio Work, a brand new workspace that mixes matter knowledge with vLex’s authorized library to ship AI-powered analysis and case technique; Clio for Enterprise, a brand new division concentrating on giant regulation corporations and company authorized departments; and Vincent Studio, a no-code surroundings permitting legal professionals to construct customized AI instruments.
The corporate additionally launched Vincent by Clio, positioning the AI platform because the engine for “enterprise-grade authorized AI” grounded in verified authorized knowledge. Based on Clio, vLex was already deployed at eight of the world’s 10 largest regulation corporations previous to the acquisition.
Financing to Energy Development
The Collection G funding spherical was led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA), with participation from TCV, Goldman Sachs Asset Administration, Sixth Avenue Development, and JMI Fairness. NEA had additionally led, and all of those buyers had additionally participated in, Clio’s record-setting $900 million Series F round last year.
The spherical additionally features a strategic $350 million debt facility led by Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital.
“Clio continues to reveal the readability, execution, and ambition that outline enduring market leaders,” stated Tony Florence, co-CEO at NEA. “The corporate has constructed one of the vital trusted platforms in authorized know-how, and its integration of AI is reshaping how work is completed throughout the occupation.”
In our interview Thursday, CFO Sigfstead emphasised that the insider spherical, during which present buyers wrote substantial new checks, signaled extraordinary confidence within the firm’s path.
“If you flip to your present buyers they usually step up in the best way that they did, the arrogance that we now have going into the transaction is simply that a lot better,” Sigfstead stated.
“Anytime you see this sort of an insider spherical – particularly with the form of {dollars} we’re speaking about right here, the place some buyers are writing multi hundred million greenback checks on their very own – it’s the strongest endorsement you possibly can have of an organization and I’m very appreciative of the buyers we now have,” Newton added.
The financing serves a number of functions: serving to to fund the vLex acquisition whereas positioning Clio for future strategic acquisitions and aggressive funding in AI growth and enterprise growth, Sigfstead stated.
“We didn’t want to make use of all of the money and all of the debt to finance the vLex deal,” Newton stated. “We’ve obtained a considerable quantity of each money circulation within the steadiness sheet in addition to accessible debt facility to present us headroom for future M&A in addition to headroom for an aggressive put money into AI and the enterprise growth alternative.”
“The addition of debt companions like Blackstone and Blue Owl Capital displays the energy and resilience of our enterprise,” Sigfstead stated within the firm’s announcement. “This financing helps transformational strikes just like the acquisition of vLex and provides us the flexibleness to behave rapidly on future alternatives that advance our mission and form the way forward for authorized know-how.”
Oakley Capital Takes Fairness
In one other vital side of the deal signaling confidence in Clio’s future, Oakley Capital, the European non-public fairness agency that owned a majority stake in vLex, selected to take a considerable portion of the transaction consideration as Clio fairness quite than money.
“Oakley selecting to roll such a good portion of its deal worth into Clio is one other nice sign of assist and pleasure across the thesis of what we’re constructing with Clio and vLex collectively,” Newton stated.
Newton stated his group had been very express in pitching Oakley on the imaginative and prescient for the way combining the 2 corporations would create a brand new class of software program that may be each disruptive and transformative.
“They wished to be a part of that,” he advised me. “They have been actually excited in regards to the one plus one equals 10 math that we really feel like we’re creating by bringing these two corporations collectively.”
Arthur Mornington, a associate at Oakley Capital, will be part of Clio’s board as a board observer.
‘Clever Authorized Work Platform’
The finished acquisition unites Clio’s authorized working system with vLex’s Vincent AI, powered by one of many world’s most complete world authorized databases containing multiple billion editorially enriched paperwork throughout 110 jurisdictions.
This “Clever Authorized Work Platform,” as Clio is asking it, represents what Newton describes as a shift from a standard “system of document” to a “system of motion” that leverages dynamic intelligence.
Associated: LawNext: Clio CEO Jack Newton on Its New ‘Intelligent Legal Work Platform’ and A New Era Of AI-Driven Legal Work.
By combining apply administration, analysis, drafting, and agency operations into linked AI-powered workflows, the platform goals to allow authorized professionals to maneuver from perception to motion with better velocity and precision.
Vincent AI offers what Clio characterizes as “the strongest basis for authorized reasoning,” drawing from vLex’s huge library. Mixed with Clio’s AI capabilities throughout Clio Work, Clio Handle, Clio Develop and Clio Draft, the platform guarantees unparalleled accuracy, effectivity and confidence, Clio says.
In our interview final week, Newton emphasised that knowledge high quality is the essential differentiator – not simply towards authorized AI startups, however towards the “omnipresent menace of OpenAI as a competitor.”
“On the finish of the day, knowledge is basically the one aggressive moat that I imagine is sustainable,” Newton advised LawSites. “For those who don’t have a differentiated method on knowledge, I feel you’re on a path to very fast commoditization.”
Integration of Management Groups
Just about each key member of vLex’s management group is becoming a member of Clio in vital roles, marking a deep integration of the 2 organizations. These embrace Lluís Faus, vLex’s co-founder and CEO, his brother Angel Faus, vLex’s co-founder and CTO, and former Fastcase founders Ed Walters and Phil Rosenthal, who joined vLex after the 2023 merger of the two companies.
Associated: On LawNext Podcast: The Four Founders of vLex and Fastcase on the Merger Of Their Two Companies.
Newton advised me that he shall be in Barcelona right this moment to rejoice the deal’s closing with the vLex management group and different senior leaders from each corporations.
The founders of Fastcase and vLex, which merged in 2023, laying the groundwork for the Clio acquisition.
“One of many fundamental objectives of this transaction and bringing vLex on board isn’t simply integrating the apply of regulation and the enterprise of regulation from a product perspective,” Newton stated, “it’s integrating the enterprise of regulation and the apply of regulation from an organizational perspective as properly.”
Newton stated that vLex’s total workforce is becoming a member of Clio and that he doesn’t anticipate vital redundancies or layoffs, characterizing the acquisition as bringing “a web new set of capabilities and a novel set of group members pursuing a extremely complementary and non-overlapping mandate.”
“This deal is all oriented round development and upside alternative versus any sorts of price financial savings or synergies on the fee entrance,” he stated.
Accelerating Enterprise Growth
The vLex integration accelerates Clio’s growth into the enterprise market, extending its attain from small- and mid-sized corporations to the world’s largest authorized organizations. Based on Clio, vLex was already deployed at eight of the world’s 10 largest regulation corporations earlier than the acquisition.
This follows Clio’s March 2025 acquisition of ShareDo, a U.Ok. firm that gives enterprise case and matter administration software program for big corporations. ShareDo has been rebranded as Clio Function, a piece administration platform for big corporations and company authorized departments that unifies workflows, analytics and matter administration throughout world groups.
Collectively, vLex and Clio Function anchor Clio for Enterprise, a brand new division devoted to serving the advanced wants of worldwide authorized groups.
“Actually we’re serving now solo practitioners all the best way to the world’s largest regulation corporations,” Sigfstead advised me. “The ceiling right here – the market alternative by way of what Clio is ready to ship – has expanded dramatically. And that’s a really completely different message from a yr in the past.”
Creating A Class
Past the monetary and operational particulars, Newton emphasised that the deal represents what he calls “class creation” – defining a brand new sort of authorized know-how platform that essentially adjustments how regulation corporations function.
“I feel what we’re seeing is a extremely thrilling shift from software program being adopted in a manner that it tries to adapt to the prevailing ways in which legal professionals work, to this clever authorized work platform being deployed and essentially altering how regulation corporations function and even the best way they employees,” Newton stated.
He famous that clients and prospects at the moment are “enthusiastic about not simply adopting a bit of software program, however altering the best way their total apply operates round this idea of an clever authorized work platform.”
When requested about skeptics who query whether or not Clio can really serve all segments of the authorized market, from solo practitioners to Am Regulation 100 corporations, Newton had a easy response: “Watch us.”
Historic M&A Deal
The mixed transaction represents the biggest M&A deal in authorized know-how historical past. The one different comparable deal was Reveal’s twin acquisition of Logikcull and IPRO for a reported $1 billion in 2023.
For vLex, the deal additionally makes it one of many few Spanish know-how corporations to attain unicorn standing, becoming a member of a rising roster of Barcelona billion-dollar startups that features Glovo, TravelPerk, Wallbox, and Factorial.
For Clio, based mostly in Burnaby, British Columbia, the acquisition represents the biggest know-how deal by a privately held Canadian firm, cementing its place as considered one of Canada’s most dear tech startups.
The completion of the deal comes 16 months after Clio raised what was then a record-setting $900 million Collection F spherical in July 2024, which valued the corporate at $3 billion. That spherical offered the capital that made the vLex acquisition doable.
On this newest deal, Goldman Sachs acted as Clio’s unique monetary advisor. Regulation corporations Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP, Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Gowling WLG, and Pérez-Llorca served as authorized counsel to Clio.
J.P. Morgan acted as vLex’s unique monetary advisor. Regulation corporations A&O Shearman and Uría Menéndez served as authorized advisors to vLex.
Trying Forward
With the deal now closed and substantial new capital readily available, Clio is positioned to speed up its AI innovation and pursue further strategic acquisitions. The corporate has made clear that it views itself as what Newton previously called “the acquirer of alternative in legaltech,” capitalizing on what he described as an “explosion of innovation” throughout the sector.
The corporate’s trajectory from its founding in 2008 as a cloud-based apply administration platform for small corporations to its present place as a $5 billion firm serving your entire authorized market represents one of the vital outstanding development tales in authorized know-how.
In our interview, as Newton mirrored on the ClioCon keynote response and the completion of this landmark deal, he returned to his theme of class creation and trade transformation.
“I feel we’ll see simply what a profound influence that can have on the authorized trade within the coming months and years to come back,” he stated.
