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In the past few months, the M&A team at CIL Management Consultants has provided commercial and vendor due diligence services for three transactions in the legal industry.

CIL Management Consultants is an international management consultancy with offices in the USA and Europe. Founded in 1986, the company specializes in strategy consulting, evaluating and creating business plans, identifying market opportunities and due diligence.

In early 2021, the company announced that it had due diligence on a number of key deals in the media sector. CIL has now advised on three investments in the corporate services sector and accompanied transactions in connection with three law firms.

Opus 2 and Bar Squared

First, CIL assisted Opus 2 in the acquisition of Bar Squared by providing due diligence services. Opus 2 offers law firms a cloud-based collaboration and acquires Bar Squared to enhance its legal technology and services to connect people, case intelligence, analysis and data throughout the litigation lifecycle.

LEX has been up to date with the latest law firm software since 2007 and continues to innovate to meet the changing requirements of modern law firms. It is used by more than 240 chambers and 11,000 lawyers and case officers worldwide. Together, the two companies will combine the LEX platform with the collaborative dispute resolution solutions from Opus 2, thus enabling networked digital practice.

“Bar Squared is a great company and we are very excited about the opportunity this transaction offers us,” said Graham Smith-Bernal, Executive Chairman of Opus 2. “Opus 2 and Bar Squared are not just the established leaders in their respective fields Markets, but more importantly, they also share a strong customer-centric culture and a deep understanding of the needs of their markets and customers. “

Lawyers on call and SYKE

CIL also assisted Lawyers on Demoand (LOD) with the due diligence on their investment in SYKE, the scope of which was not disclosed. The strategic partnership between the UK alternative legal service providers will allow them to combine their expertise in delivering flexible legal services and legal technology to help clients overhaul their operating models and drive digital transformation.

Established in 2016 and based in Leeds, SYKE will remain a separate company and brand, led by founder and CEO Alistair Maiden, former head of contracts, data protection and privacy at supermarket giant Asda. LOD – which is supported by the private equity firm Bowmark Capital – will in turn support SYKE to further expand and develop its legal tech business.

Speaking to the news, Maiden said, “SYKE and LOD share a common vision of the alternative legal services market, its potential and the direction of travel. At the same time, the legal industry is concerned with moving into a digital future and using its teams more intelligently. Both topics overlap in several ways. “

Chambers and Partners and Top 3 Legal

Finally, CIL supported Chambers and Partners with the due diligence for the acquisition of Top 3 Legal. The takeover offers Chambers the opportunity to further expand its market-leading position by integrating the top 3 legal platform into its existing product portfolio as part of its digital growth strategy.

Top 3 Legal is an online platform that helps companies manage their relationships with outside lawyers and law firms. It enables internal legal departments to hire the right lawyer for any matter based on their knowledge and experience of these external lawyers. As a legal research and analysis firm, this will assist Chambers in delivering products and services to the global legal profession. Top 3 Legal founders Gareth Stephenson and Richard Fleetwood will join Chambers’ leadership team following the acquisition.

Tim Noble, CEO, Chambers and Partners, said, “Chambers is a fantastic brand and we are excited to accelerate the growth of Top 3 Legal with the Chambers team and the content behind them. Richard and I are excited to work with the team to continue our vision of advancing the legal directory market and creating a legal ecosystem for the benefit of all legal players. “