Burnaby’s Clio announced today that they have raised USD $250 million in the largest growth-stage transaction in Canada’s history.
The Series D round, led by US growth-equity firms TCV and JMI Equity illustrates their confidence that Clio will lead the legal tech market and that the legal tech industry is the next industry to watch.
TCV and JMI have been investment partners to innovative technology companies such as Adaptive Insights, Airbnb, Eloqua, Expedia, Facebook, Netflix, PointClickCare, ServiceNow, and Spotify, and have helped these businesses achieve their growth objectives.
Clio was founded by lifelong friends Jack Newton and Rian Gauvreau after speaking with the Law Society of British Columbia about the struggles solo lawyers and small firms face when running a business.
Newton made the announcement this morning at a press conference that included Jill Tipping, CEO of the BC Tech Association, Terry Beech, MP, Burnaby North-Seymour, and Burnaby Mayor Mike Hurley.
Clio’s first 10 years, and its two rounds of funding to date, totalling USD $26 million, focused on bringing cloud technology to law firms—a revolutionary step forward from the expensive, outdated, on-premise solutions that were out of reach for most lawyers.
Today’s minority investment suggests a valuation of over $1 billion, making Clio Canada’s newest Unicorn, or Narwhal if you prefer Canadian nomenclature.
With this growth investment, Clio will work to transform the practice of law for good by creating cloud-based solutions designed to help law firms deliver client-centered experiences and make legal services more widely accessible.
Jack Newton, CEO and Co-founder of Clio, told the crowd at today’s press conference that the new money will allow Clio to hire 100 new employees by the end of the year and an additional 100 in 2020.
“Over three-quarters of legal problems don’t receive legal assistance, yet lawyers are struggling to find new clients—it’s clear that something in the system is broken,” said Jack Newton, CEO and Co-founder of Clio.
“Clio is committed to building the essential operating system for lawyers, one that focuses relentlessly on unlocking new efficiencies and entry points to legal services. This will allow legal professionals to easily deliver exceptional client experiences, increase their productivity, grow their firms, and make legal services more accessible. This investment from experienced growth software investors will accelerate our ability to realize this vision.”
Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt LLP represented Clio on the transaction.
Leave a Reply