Factor – the ALSP formerly known as Axiom Managed Solutions – has hired Varun Mehta to be its CEO, as it embarks on a new phase of growth since spinning out of the mother ship a year ago.
Mehta is an experienced legal process expert and was part of the founding team of the Clutch Group, which merged with ALSP Morae Global in 2017, where he most recently served as President until the middle of 2018.
Since then he’s been an investor, among other roles. For example, he is an adviser and investor in Bodhala, which helps businesses to analyze, manage and control outside legal counsel costs.
During his tenure at Clutch, Mehta served as CRO and co-led the business’s transformation from a staff augmentation firm to a tech-enabled legal services firm that grew more than 350% over a three-year period to over 500 employees and seven offices globally, Factor has pointed out – no doubt with the hope they’ll see the same kind of rapid growth there as well.
As Artificial Lawyer explored earlier this month, Factor is focused on large scale contract negotiation work for major businesses and has around 500 staff, which includes lawyers. It’s also been exploring the growing range of legal AI tools that could help with this task, although it has not yet found the one that meets its needs.
Either way, Factor looks set with its new CEO to be a growing ALSP that will add additional competition into a market that is increasingly coming alive to the practical benefits of sending work to specialised entities that can perform valuable, but process-driven work.
Naturally, this group existed before – as part of Axiom – but is now free to do as it wants; and with a new leader it could well grow fast in the years ahead.
Mehta said of the move: ‘As someone who has competed against the Axiom Managed Solutions business in the past, I have long admired and respected what they built, especially their leadership in delivering sophisticated legal managed services.’
‘The company’s leadership always had an intellectual curiosity and a true passion for developing a better model – unlike much of the industry, which seemed to be focused on winning the next contract. As a result, Factor begins its journey with an excellent client list and a reputation for taking care of their people and clients, which has become the gold standard in the industry,’ he added.
‘With Factor’s deep experience transforming legal services through a combination of expert lawyers, smart technology and well-informed processes, we will focus on serving as a business enabler to general counsel and the businesses they represent,’ he concluded.
Sounds like they’re heading in the right direction.
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