Acquisitions in the Legal & Litigation Support Services Sector

Acquisitions in the Legal & Litigation Support Services Sector

This article provides a summary of mergers and acquisitions transactions in the Legal Services Support Sector between 2018 and 2024.  We try to update this post every month as we close more deals and learn of other deals that have closed in the sector.

An Overview of the Litigation and Legal Services Support Sector

The Litigation Support Services or Legal Services Support sectors encompass a diverse range of companies providing specialized assistance to legal professionals and organizations. Some of the key types of companies within these sectors include:

Court Reporting Firms: These companies provide skilled court reporters to create verbatim records of legal proceedings, depositions, and hearings.

Litigation Support Providers: These firms offer a wide range of services to assist with litigation, including eDiscovery, document management, trial preparation, and case management.

Legal Technology Companies: These companies develop and provide software solutions tailored to the needs of legal professionals, such as case management software, document review platforms, and legal research tools.

Legal Research and Publishing Companies: These entities produce and distribute legal research materials, including case law, statutes, regulations, and legal commentary.

Legal Consulting Firms: These firms offer strategic advice and consulting services to law firms, corporate legal departments, and other legal entities on various aspects of legal practice, including practice management, technology adoption, business development, trial preparation, jury selection, etc.

Videography Services: These companies specialize in recording video and audio records of legal proceedings, depositions, and interviews and converting them into written transcripts.

Forensic Accounting and Investigation Firms: These firms provide financial and investigative services to support litigation, including forensic accounting, fraud investigation, asset tracing, and expert witness testimony.

Legal Staffing and Recruitment Agencies: These firms specialize in placing legal professionals, including attorneys, paralegals, legal secretaries, and support staff, with law firms, corporate legal departments, and government agencies.

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) Companies: These organizations offer outsourced legal services to law firms and corporations, including document review, contract drafting, intellectual property management, and legal research. This subsector is going through rapid change as artificial intelligence solutions become more integrated in their offerings.

Court Technology and Services Providers: These companies develop and implement technology solutions for courtrooms and legal proceedings, such as electronic filing systems, court management software, and audiovisual equipment for trials and hearings.

Mediation and Arbitration Services: These organizations facilitate alternative dispute resolution processes, including mediation and arbitration, to help parties resolve legal disputes outside of traditional litigation.

Legal Education and Training Providers: These entities offer continuing legal education (CLE) programs, professional development courses, and training seminars for legal professionals to enhance their skills and knowledge in various areas of law and practice.

Legal and Litigation Support Services Consolidation

The legal and litigation support sector is experiencing a long-term consolidation by several large national players and about a dozen smaller regional companies.

Here is a summary of the factors driving this long-term consolidation.

1. Professional Shortage: There’s a notable shortage of skilled court reporters, partly due to an aging workforce and fewer new entrants in the field. Larger firms, through consolidation, can better manage this talent crunch by pooling resources and offering more attractive career paths.
2. Technological Advancements: The court reporting industry, like many others, is rapidly evolving due to technology. Advancements in digital recording, real-time transcription, and even AI-powered transcription services are reshaping the landscape. Firms are consolidating to better invest in and leverage these technologies. It’s a bit like the tech trends we see in other sectors, where staying ahead of the curve is crucial.
3. Increasing Demand for Legal Services: There’s a growing demand for legal services, partly due to increased regulatory complexities and a more litigious society. This demand extends to court reporting services, which are essential for legal proceedings. Larger firms, through consolidation, can handle a higher volume of work more efficiently.
4. Economies of Scale: By consolidating, court reporting firms can achieve economies of scale. This means they can offer services at a lower cost while improving quality. It’s a classic business move – think of it like big tech firms merging to streamline their operations and cut down on expenses.
5. Market Fragmentation: The court reporting industry is pretty fragmented, with many small players. This fragmentation makes it ripe for consolidation, as larger firms can acquire smaller ones to expand their market share and client base.
6. Diversification of Services: The large national court reporting firms are diversifying their services to include things like legal videography, translation, litigation consulting, eDiscovery, and document management services. By consolidating, firms can offer a broader range of services to their clients, making them a one-stop shop for legal support services.
7. Client Expectations: Clients are increasingly expecting more comprehensive and sophisticated services. Larger, consolidated firms are often better equipped to meet these expectations with their broader range of services and technological capabilities.

Due to these long-term factors, we anticipate this consolidation to continue for the foreseeable future.

Mergers and Acquisitions in the Litigation Support Industry

The following section outlines a comprehensive summary of mergers and acquisitions transactions within the legal and litigation support services sector spanning the period from 2018 to 2024. This curated list is updated on a monthly basis to reflect the latest developments and transitions within the industry.

In addition to the publicly announced transactions mentioned above, we estimated that several dozen additional transactions have taken place involving smaller litigation and legal support service companies, which were acquired either by local competitors or individual investors. These smaller transactions, are often not formally announced through press releases, but contribute greatly to the dynamic landscape of industry consolidation.

Other Relevant Articles:

Readers may also benefit from exploring our supplementary articles pertaining to litigation and legal support services, offering valuable insights and resources on related topics.

Court Reporting & Litigation Support Industry is Ripe for Consolidation

What’s My Court Reporting Firm Worth? – Simple Rules of Thumb updated for 2023

Jackim Woods’ Court Reporting Practice Group

About the Author and Jackim Woods & Co.

Rich Jackim is an attorney, investment banker, and entrepreneur. For the last 25 years, Rich has been providing boutique investment banking services to small and middle-market companies in the court reporting and litigation support sector.

In addition to running a successful M&A advisory firm, Rich founded a successful training and certification company called the Exit Planning Institute, which he sold to a private family office in 2012.

Rich is also the author of the critically acclaimed book, The $10 Trillion Dollar Opportunity: Designing Successful Exit Strategies for Middle Market Businesses.  It became an Amazon best-seller in the business consulting category the year it was published.

Jackim Woods & Co offers skilled mergers and acquisitions advisory services to court reporting firms, digital reporting and videography firms, court reporting schools, eDiscovery companies, and legal contract staffing companies in both sell-side and buy-side transactions. Jackim Woods & Co has arranged over 100 successful transactions, ranging in value from less than one million to more than eighty million dollars.

If you own an court reporting firm, legal support services business,  or litigation support company and are interested in exploring your options, I would welcome an opportunity to speak with you. There is no cost or obligation to you and all discussions are completely confidential.

Feel free to contact me at 224-513-5142 or rjackim@jackimwoods.com.