legal services

U.S. Legal Support, a provider of litigation support services, has been acquired by Abry Partners.

U.S. Legal provides court reporting, record retrieval, interpreting & translations, trial services and transcription services to major insurance companies, corporations and law firms nationwide. The company, founded in 1996 and led by CEO Charles Schugart, has over 85 offices located across the United States and is headquartered in Houston (www.uslegalsupport.com).

“U.S. Legal Support represents an ideal investment for Abry,” said Nick Scola, a Principal at Abry. “Charles and his team have built a fantastic company with a scalable sales and customer service focused business model and leading operational processes that allow them to deliver superior service to their clients.”

Abry invests in the media, communications, and business and information sectors. The firm was founded in 1989 and is headquartered in Boston (www.abry.com).

“Following several years of significant growth, award-winning service and recognition among our clients, we are enthusiastic to partner with Abry in support of continuing our strong tradition of high client satisfaction,” said Mr. Schugart. “Abry has an excellent reputation and proven track record for driving growth in its portfolio companies. We are pleased to have a partner that shares our philosophy and look forward to working with them in support of our vision to be the industry-leading provider of litigation support services, providing our clients a competitive edge with access to the best technology and service.”

Deloitte Corporate Finance was the financial advisor to U.S. Legal Support. Managing Director James Miller led the transaction for Deloitte.

Kirkland & Ellis provided legal services to Abry on this transaction.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | December 5, 2018

Advanced Discovery, a portfolio company of GI Partners, has completed its acquisition of Consilio. In March 2018, GI Partners agreed to acquire two leading legal services providers – Advanced Discovery, a portfolio company of Trivest Partners, and Consilio, a portfolio company of Shamrock Partners and Trinity Hunt. The buy of Advanced Discovery closed last month and now the buy of Consilio has reached its closing.

Consilio is a provider of eDiscovery and document review services with an emphasis on litigation, antitrust, and internal and regulatory investigations. The company is headquartered in Washington, DC and has 24 worldwide locations (www.consilio.com). Advanced Discovery is also a provider of eDiscovery and document review services. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX and has 16 offices in the US and an office in London, UK (www.advanceddiscovery.com).

The combined company now consists of over 2,500 employees, 14 worldwide data centers and 23 document review facilities, spanning 11 countries.

“This is an exciting and significant step for Consilio and Advanced Discovery to enhance our market leadership position as a global technology platform that will better serve our clients, offering them a broad suite of innovative solutions,” said Andy Macdonald, CEO of Consilio, who will continue as CEO of the combined company.  “We are extremely pleased to partner with GI Partners, a firm that shares our guiding principles for delivering quality service to clients. We share an ongoing commitment to growing the combined company, both organically and through select acquisitions.  We look forward to expanding our range of product technologies to support our growing customer needs anywhere in the world.”

GI Partners makes control equity investments in companies with enterprise values of $250 million to $1 billion that are active in the IT infrastructure, healthcare, software, and services sectors. In November 2017, the firm held a final closing of GI Partners Fund V LP at an oversubscribed and hard cap of $2.8 billion. The combination of Consilio and Advanced Discovery is the fourth platform investment for this fund. GI Partners was founded in 2001 and is based in San Francisco (www.gipartners.com).

“We are pleased to be able to acquire and combine both businesses,” said Hoon Cho, Managing Director at GI Partners. “Consilio and Advanced Discovery have complementary global operations and strong cultural fit. GI Partners’ successful history of investing in leading technology businesses will allow us to provide the tools and resources needed to support Andy and his team in driving accelerated growth.”

BlackArch Partners was the financial advisor to Advanced Discovery and Harris Williams represented Consilio as its financial advisor.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | April 20, 2018

GI Partners has agreed to acquire two leading legal services providers, Consilio, a portfolio company of Shamrock Partners and Trinity Hunt, and Advanced Discovery, a portfolio company of Trivest Partners.

Consilio is a provider of eDiscovery and document review services with an emphasis on litigation, antitrust, and internal and regulatory investigations. The company is headquartered in Washington, DC and has 24 worldwide locations (www.consilio.com). Advanced Discovery is also a provider of eDiscovery and document review services. The company is headquartered in Austin, TX and has 16 offices in the US and an office in London, UK (www.advanceddiscovery.com).

The buy Advanced Discovery is expected to close later this month and the acquisition of Consilio, and its merger into Advanced Discovery, is expected to close in the second quarter of 2018. The combined company will consist of over 2,500 employees, 14 worldwide data centers and 23 document review facilities, spanning 11 countries.

“This is an exciting and significant step for Consilio and Advanced Discovery to enhance our market leadership position as a global technology platform that will better serve our clients, offering them a broad suite of innovative solutions,” said Andy Macdonald, CEO of Consilio, who will continue as CEO of the combined company.  “We are extremely pleased to partner with GI Partners, a firm that shares our guiding principles for delivering quality service to clients. We share an ongoing commitment to growing the combined company, both organically and through select acquisitions.  We look forward to expanding our range of product technologies to support our growing customer needs anywhere in the world.”

GI Partners makes control equity investments in companies with enterprise values of $250 million to $1 billion that are active in the IT infrastructure, healthcare, software, and services sectors. In November 2017, the firm held a final closing of GI Partners Fund V LP at an oversubscribed and hard cap of $2.8 billion. The combination of Consilio and Advanced Discovery is the fourth platform investment for this fund. GI Partners was founded in 2001 and is based in San Francisco (www.gipartners.com).

“We are pleased to be able to acquire and combine both businesses,” said Hoon Cho, Managing Director at GI Partners. “Consilio and Advanced Discovery have complementary global operations and strong cultural fit. GI Partners’ successful history of investing in leading technology businesses will allow us to provide the tools and resources needed to support Andy and his team in driving accelerated growth.”

“We are excited to partner with Andy and the combined company’s senior leadership team in this exciting new chapter together,” said Jeff Sheu, Director at GI Partners. “Looking ahead, we plan to continue our focus on selectively expanding our service offerings, both organically and through acquisitions, to enhance the customer experience.”

BlackArch Partners was the financial advisor to Advanced Discovery and Harris Williams represented Consilio as its financial advisor.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | March 22, 2018

Spectrum Equity has made a growth equity investment in The Expert Institute, an online platform used by law firms to find and connect with expert witness candidates.

The Expert Institute (TEI) connects pre-screened qualified experts in every field with lawyers looking for technical expertise, consultative support, expert witness testimony, and case-specific guidance. The company, led by CEO Michael Talve, was founded in 2011 and is headquartered in New York with additional offices in Los Angeles and Dallas (www.theexpertinstitute.com).

Since its founding, TEI has assisted over 4,000 law firms with finding and connecting with expert witnesses on more than 30,000 cases. The company has a global network of over 3 million experts that are available for cases involving medical malpractice, personal injury, general liability, mass torts, real estate, energy, securities, and patent litigation. Each expert is comprehensively screened and vetted, including analyses of professional sanctions, admissibility challenges, license verification, and background checks. The Expert Institute was voted the #1 Expert Witness Provider of 2018 by The National Law Journal and 2017 by the New York Law Journal.

“TEI has filled a much-needed void in the market, providing a unique and highly valuable service to leading law firms by streamlining the historically disjointed and unstructured process of finding expert witnesses,” said Mike Farrell, a Managing Director at Spectrum Equity. “TEI is uniquely positioned to continue to serve its customers through a highly differentiated and cost-effective service. We are thrilled to partner with Michael Talve and the rest of the TEI team as they continue to provide a world-class service to leading law firms.”

The investment by Spectrum is the TEI’s first institutional capital and proceeds of the investment will be used to further scale operations, broaden its areas of practice and pursue business development opportunities through product expansion. “It’s been exciting to see how Michael Talve and his team have taken TEI from concept to high-growth category leader with no outside, institutional capital,” said Jake Heller, a Principal at Spectrum Equity. “These characteristics of capital efficiency and bootstrapped leadership are what we look for in our portfolio companies, and we are eager to support TEI management on the next phase of growth and success.”

Spectrum Equity invests in growth companies in the information industry with particular interest in internet and digital media; communications, media and entertainment; and software and information. The firm closed its eighth fund, Spectrum Equity VIII LP, with $1.25 billion in capital commitments in October 2017. Spectrum Equity was founded in 1994 and has offices in Boston and San Francisco (www.spectrumequity.com).

“We are excited to partner with Spectrum Equity given their extensive experience in scaling subscription information services companies, breadth of relevant portfolio companies, and depth of network,” said Mr. Talve. “This partnership marks an important milestone for TEI’s development, and we are eager to execute upon our shared strategic vision for the company.”

Morrison Cohen provided legal services to The Expert Institute and Latham & Watkins provided legal services to Spectrum Equity.

© 2018 Private Equity Professional | January 16, 2018

The Carlyle Group has acquired Prime Clerk, a bankruptcy claims and noticing administrator. The investment in Prime Clerk was made through Carlyle Strategic Partners IV which closed in February 2017 with $2.5 billion of capital.

Prime Clerk focuses on restructuring and bankruptcy administration. The company’s services include pre-bankruptcy filing preparation, noticing solutions, claims administration, balloting and tabulation, secure disbursements, communications and call center support, case specific websites and virtual data rooms. Customers of Prime Clerk include, among others, Toys ‘R Us; Takata Holdings; Avaya; SunEdison; Payless Holdings; and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Prime Clerk, led by CEO Shai Waisman, was founded in 2013 and is based in New York (www.primeclerk.com).

Under the Bankruptcy Code, the clerk of the court is charged with providing notice to creditors and maintaining the claims register. According to Prime Clerk, the ever-increasing size and complexity of bankruptcy cases requires that these administrative requirements be outsourced through professional organizations.

“Together with Carlyle and our existing management team we will continue our growth trajectory, offering new and innovative services in adjacent business lines, and expanding globally,” said Mr. Waisman. “Having Carlyle by our side is a validation of our business model, professionalism and commitment to excellence.”

“The Prime Clerk leadership team has harnessed their extensive legal, claims administration and noticing solutions expertise to create a thriving and market-leading business,” said Shary Moalemzadeh, Managing Director and Co-head of Carlyle Strategic Partners. “By leveraging Carlyle’s global network and providing the company with growth capital, we will help take Prime Clerk to the next level of success. We are proud to partner with this management team.”

The Carlyle Group (NASDAQ: CG) invests in buyouts, growth capital, real estate and leveraged finance in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. Carlyle has expertise in various industries, including: aerospace, defense & government services, consumer & retail, energy, financial services, healthcare, industrial, real estate, technology & business services, telecommunications & media and transportation.  The firm employs approximately 1,550 people in 31 offices across six continents and is based in Washington, DC (www.carlyle.com).

© 2017 Private Equity Professional | December 12, 2017

Trinity Hunt Partners has acquired WEXCO International, a provider of litigation-focused forensic engineering services.

WEXCO’s services include premises liability and safety engineering, accident reconstruction, and construction defect analysis. The company was founded in 1969 and has investigated over 10,000 cases, provided more than 2,000 depositions, and testified in over 600 trials.  WEXCO is headquartered in Marina del Rey, CA with additional offices in Berkeley, CA and Cedar Park, TX (www.wexco.net).

Trinity Hunt is partnering with Brad Avrit, the company’s owner and president, on this transaction and he remains a significant shareholder of WEXCO post-closing. “WEXCO has embarked on a strategic growth plan to become a market leader in the forensic engineering space,” said Mr. Avrit. “Our partnership with Trinity Hunt will position us with the experience, resources and value creation plan needed to rapidly accomplish this goal.”

Through its partnership with WEXCO, Trinity Hunt intends to acquire similar or complementary businesses across the United States. “Trinity Hunt is extremely excited to partner with Brad and his team, especially given the alignment of business philosophies and core values between our firms,” said Pete Stein, a partner at Trinity Hunt. “Brad has done an exceptional job at positioning WEXCO for future growth and we look forward to working with him to accelerate these opportunities.”

Trinity Hunt has been very active in the legal process outsourcing sector with prior investments in Lexitas, a Houston-headquartered provider of deposition transcription reporting, legal videography, and records retrieval services for law firms and corporate legal departments (acquired in February 2015) (www.lexitaslegal.com); IMS ExpertServices, a Pensacola, FL-based provider of expert witness search, credentialing, and placement services (acquired in November 2017) (www.ims-expertservices.com); and Equivalent DATA (now Consilio), a Washington, DC-headquartered provider of eDiscovery and document review services (acquired in May 2012 and sold to Advanced Discovery, a portfolio company of GI Partners, in April 2018) (www.consilio.com).

“With WEXCO, our fourth investment within the legal process outsourcing space, we plan to bring our full resources and relationships to bear on behalf of the company,” added Mr. Stein.

In September 2018, Trinity Hunt held a final closing of its fifth fund, Trinity Hunt Partners V LP, at an oversubscribed $350 million in capital commitments. The new fund exceeded its initial target of $300 million and closed at the hard cap.

Dallas-based Trinity Hunt invests in founder and family-owned companies that have EBITDAs between $4 million and $25 million. Sectors of interest include business services, industrial growth, non-cyclical consumer products, and healthcare services (www.trinityhunt.com).

© 2019 Private Equity Professional | August 8, 2019

Advanced Discovery, a provider of e-discovery services and document review, has been acquired by Trivest Partners in partnership with the company’s management team.  Advanced Discovery represents the fifth platform investment in Trivest Fund V, a $415 million fund.

“Advanced Discovery aligns perfectly with our strategy to partner with growing, founder-owned, middle market businesses,” said Forest Wester, partner with Trivest.  “The company’s commitment to continuous improvement and unparalleled customer service makes it a trusted partner to its clients and the kind of business that we know is positioned for long-term success. We look forward to helping the company continue its long track record of growth and success.”

Advanced Discovery is a provider of e-discovery and document review services.  The company has facilities in 12 cities and provides services across the EDRM (Electronic Discovery Reference Model) for law firms and corporate legal departments. Services include computer forensics, early case assessment, predictive coding, consulting, data hosting, document review and paper discovery. The company was founded in 2002 and is based in Austin, TX (www.advanceddiscovery.com).

Trivest’s investment will be used to advance the company’s national presence through add-on acquisitions and investments in additional personnel, services and technology.

“Our market is ripe for consolidation and demands constant innovation,” said David Vandygriff, chief executive officer of Advanced Discovery. “We have built a great sales and project support organization and have developed numerous process-enhancing software tools. With access to additional capital through Trivest, we will be able to continue to add talented individuals to our team and expand our technology development to more fully realize our goal of providing efficient, reliable and transparent e-discovery.”

Trivest invests in founder or family owned businesses in the United States and Canada that have revenues of at least $25 million and cash flows of at least $5 million. Sectors of interest include business services, niche manufacturing, consumer products, and franchisors. The firm was founded in 1981 and has completed more than 200 transactions totaling over $5 billion in value. Trivest is headquartered in Miami (www.trivest.com).

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 8-6-14

The Dolan Company and its subsidiaries have emerged from chapter 11 only 81 days after voluntarily filing for bankruptcy protection. As previously announced, the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware confirmed the company’s plan of reorganization on June 9, 2014.  Under the plan of reorganization, the company’s secured lenders are now the owners of The Dolan Company. Investment funds managed by Bayside Capital are the majority owner. Bayside Capital is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital.

The restructuring also establishes DiscoverReady, formerly The Dolan Company’s e-discovery business, as a separate and independently managed operating company. DiscoverReady is also majority owned by investment funds managed by Bayside Capital.

The Dolan Company is a provider of professional services and business information to the legal, financial, and real estate sectors. The company’s Professional Services Division provides specialized outsourced services to the legal profession primarily through subsidiary Counsel Press. Counsel Press is the nation’s largest provider of appellate services to the legal community. The company’s Business Information Division publishes business journals, court and commercial media, and other highly focused information products and services, operates web sites, and produces events for targeted legal and professional audiences in each of the 19 geographic markets that it serves across the United States. The company is based in Minneapolis (www.thedolancompany.com).

Bayside Capital is an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital and has approximately $4.5 billion of capital under management. Bayside invests in middle-market companies across a spectrum of industries, including business services, manufacturing, healthcare, retail, food/agriculture, and specialty finance. Typical investment size ranges from $10 million to $100 million. The firm has twelve offices throughout the U.S. and Europe and is based in Miami (www.bayside.com).

2014 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-13-14

Clearlake Capital has acquired Inventus, an electronic data discovery services provider. Clearlake led the investment group, which included the Inventus management team and Cerca Group.

Inventus is a provider of electronic data discovery (EDD) services to law firms, large corporations, and government agencies. The company, founded in 1991, will remain headquartered in Chicago and Trevor Campion will continue as the company’s Chief Executive Officer (www.inventus.com).

“Clearlake and Cerca Group share our vision for accelerating growth by capitalizing on what we believe is a very robust market opportunity,” said Mr. Campion. “Both firms have distinguished track records of creating value through growth and acquisitions within their portfolio companies. Together, I am confident that we will continue to advance Inventus’ successful track record of delivering leading technology solutions and to meet the unique e-discovery needs of our customers.”

Clearlake invests in special situations such as corporate divestitures, recapitalizations, buyouts, restructurings, turnarounds and minority equity investments. Sectors of interest include business services; communication; consumer products and retail; defense and public safety; energy and power; healthcare; industrials; media; and technology. Clearlake was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in New York (www.clearlakecapital.com).

“We are excited to partner with Inventus at this important time in the company’s growth trajectory,” said Behdad Eghbali and Prashant Mehrotra of Clearlake in a released statement. “The company’s clear leadership position in the electronic data discovery market makes it an excellent platform to lead consolidation in the industry. We look forward to working closely with Inventus and to investing significant capital to build out a global platform.”

Cerca Group invests in business services, software, and communications sectors. The firm is based in New York (www.cercagroup.com).

“We have significant experience in the technology and litigation support industries and understand and appreciate the value that Inventus has delivered for customers under CEO Trevor Campion’s leadership,” said John Bingaman, Managing Principal of Cerca Group. “As a result, we are very excited to partner with both Clearlake and the Inventus management team as they continue the company’s long history of providing best-in-class service to customers and innovation and thought leadership to the EDD industry.”

VRA Partners advised Inventus on this transaction. VRA Partners is based in Atlanta and provides M&A services to middle-market companies and private equity firms www.vrapartners.com).

© 2013 PEPD • Private Equity’s Leading News Magazine • 6-20-13