Harbor, the Chicago-based authorized expertise and consulting agency, continues its string of current acquisitions with the addition of Encoretech, a specialised coaching and person adoption companies firm centered on the authorized sector.
The deal marks Harbor’s first acquisition since receiving a majority funding from personal fairness agency BayPine in June and represents the corporate’s sixth acquisition since its formation in 2023.
The acquisition addresses what each corporations characterize as a vital hole within the authorized trade: the persistence of outdated coaching methodologies in an period of quickly evolving expertise and synthetic intelligence.
Associated: LawNext: Harbor Global CEO Matt Sunderman On Driving Digital Transformation in Legal.
Encoretech brings roughly 80 professionals throughout the USA and Europe who specialise in serving to legislation corporations and company authorized departments maximize their return on expertise investments by means of complete coaching packages.
Coaching as a Aggressive Benefit
“As each facet of authorized companies turns into extra tech-enabled, coaching and upskilling authorized professionals has grow to be mission-critical,” stated Matt Sunderman, CEO of Harbor. “Encoretech has a monitor file of excellence as a coaching companies firm that provides agile, versatile options for legislation corporations and company authorized departments in search of to make sure their folks take advantage of the methods and instruments accessible to them.”
The acquisition displays a broader recognition inside the authorized expertise sector that expertise adoption — not simply expertise acquisition — determines the success or failure of digital transformation initiatives.
Regardless of legislation corporations’ substantial investments in apply administration methods, doc administration platforms, AI instruments and different applied sciences, many wrestle to realize significant adoption amongst attorneys and workers who proceed to depend on acquainted, if much less environment friendly, workflows.
Encoretech’s flagship providing, Coaching-as-a-Service (TaaS), gives a completely managed resolution that helps legislation corporations redesign their expertise coaching packages from the bottom up. The service encompasses new-hire onboarding, steady studying by means of reside and on-demand coaching, customized content material growth, and studying administration system integration.
Encoretech works with Am Legislation 200 corporations in addition to company authorized departments.
Growing old Options for Trendy Challenges
Jeffrey Roach, president of Encoretech, stated that there’s a basic mismatch between conventional coaching approaches and present expertise realities.
“Expertise coaching packages within the authorized sector are sometimes nonetheless rooted within the methodologies developed 20 years in the past,” he stated. “With the ubiquity of expertise and the appearance of AI, it’s clear that the previous approach of coaching customers is ineffective.”
The problem has intensified as authorized expertise has moved past fundamental doc manufacturing instruments to embody subtle AI-powered analysis platforms, predictive analytics, automated workflows and cloud-based collaboration methods.
Many of those instruments require not simply technical proficiency but in addition judgment about when and learn how to apply them successfully — a ability set that conventional one-time coaching periods fail to develop.
Encoretech’s strategy emphasizes ongoing ability growth relatively than one-off coaching occasions. Its methodology combines instructor-led coaching, particular person teaching and a library of on-demand content material designed for fast consumption.
The mannequin displays analysis exhibiting that sustained, incremental studying produces higher retention and habits change than intensive however rare coaching periods, the corporate says.
Constructing A Complete Platform
The Encoretech acquisition matches inside Harbor’s broader technique of assembling capabilities throughout what it calls the “Advise/Implement/Handle lifecycle.” The coaching companies will combine with Harbor’s Authorized Expertise + Operations apply, which handles cloud migrations, workflow automation and ongoing administration of enterprise purposes.
Encoretech represents Harbor’s sixth acquisition for the reason that firm’s formation by means of the 2023 merger of HBR Consulting, LAC Group and Wilson Allen. The corporate’s acquisition timeline demonstrates an aggressive progress technique:
- October 2023: Acquired Stout’s authorized administration consulting apply, including e-discovery advisory and company authorized operations capabilities.
- February 2024: Acquired Pinnacle, a UK-based authorized expertise companies supplier, establishing vital presence in Europe and Asia Pacific.
- March 2025: Acquired CLIENTSFirst Consulting, including advertising and marketing expertise and CRM information high quality companies.
- October 2024: Acquired Ascertus, a UK-based iManage implementation specialist.
- November 2025: Acquired Encoretech.
This acquisition sample means that, relatively than focusing completely on software program choice and implementation, Harbor is assembling companies that deal with the complete spectrum of technology-related challenges legislation corporations face, from strategic planning by means of long-term adoption and optimization.
First Deal Since BayPine Funding
Harbor’s acquisition of Encoretech marks the primary deal accomplished since BayPine’s majority funding closed in June 2025. The transaction adopted three years of possession by Renovus Capital Companions, which stays a big investor alongside BayPine and Harbor’s administration group.
“The authorized trade is present process a generational transformation pushed by the speedy growth and availability of rising applied sciences and instruments,” Sunderman stated on the time of the BayPine funding.
“Making use of superior applied sciences and AI to enterprise operations and authorized workflows is game-changing, however the scope and scale of the transformation required to capitalize on the potential alternatives is important.”
On the time of that funding, Sunderman stated that the corporate deliberate to “increase its funding within the company authorized market globally and advance new capabilities by means of acquisition or inside growth.”
The Encoretech acquisition seems to reveal that technique in motion, including capabilities that Harbor recognized as strategic priorities relatively than making an attempt to construct them itself.
Encoretech Integration
The Encoretech group will be a part of Harbor’s Authorized Expertise + Operations apply, which now encompasses greater than 900 professionals globally serving over 80 percnet of world 200 legislation corporations and 500 company authorized departments.
The combination positions Harbor to supply purchasers a extra full package deal: strategic expertise planning, implementation companies, and now complete coaching and adoption help.
“Harbor has a robust status inside the authorized trade for its experience in authorized expertise, operations and innovation,” stated Stacy Gittleman, CEO of Encoretech. “I’m thrilled to see our group begin a brand new chapter as a part of Harbor.”
For Roach, the Encoretech president who will proceed in a management position at Harbor, the mixture permits the corporate to increase its affect.
“Our group has made nice strides in serving to the authorized sector rethink its strategy to expertise adoption,” he stated. “Becoming a member of Harbor permits us to scale that work and attain extra organizations able to modernize the best way their folks be taught and work.”
