Litera may look from the outside to be just adding on company after company through acquisition, but there is a clear strategy behind its growth. Core to this strategy is the creation of its Firm Intelligence group, formed via the recent acquisition of Foundation Software and also Clocktimizer.
AL TV spoke to two of the key people from both companies who are now going to be central to the development of Litera’s long-term legal data plans: Barry Solomon, VP of Firm Intelligence (and also Executive VP at Foundation), and Pieter van der Hoeven, co-founder and CEO of Clocktimizer.
We cover a range of topics, including:
- Why the deal with Clocktimizer?
- What data will both companies collect and how can that help clients?
- How the Firm Intelligence group fits into the wider Litera strategy.
- Using operational data to help triangulate contract information.
- Can the data they are gathering help develop matter and cost taxonomies and/or industry standards?
- The future plans for the group.
While there is plenty of discussion about consolidation and the building of platforms in the market, Litera is clearly not growing big for the sake of it, nor just because they believe clients find platforms more convenient.
The goal here is to bring together, via acquisition, companies that have the ability to provide all the data Litera needs to offer clients insights they otherwise could not achieve, and then directly link this to their other offerings. I.e. it’s a platform, yes, but it’s a platform that aims to leverage everything it touches to deliver better overall performance to its products.
Thanks to Barry and Pieter for the interview. Enjoy!