2 minute read | June.27.2023
Casetext, a California-based provider of AI technology for legal professionals, has signed a definitive agreement to be acquired by Thomson Reuters Corporation, a global content and technology company, for $650 million cash. Orrick advised Casetext on the transaction.
The merger is the largest in the Legaltech space and one of the ten largest in AI and Machine Learning in the first half of 2023.
Founded in 2013, Casetext uses advanced AI and machine learning to build technology for legal professionals, creating solutions that help them work more efficiently and provide higher-quality representation to more clients. Casetext’s customers include more than 10,000 law firms and corporate legal departments.
Earlier this year, Casetext launched CoCounsel, the first-ever legal AI assistant, of which Orrick was a beta customer. Orrick has represented Casetext since 2014.
Thomson Reuters informs the way forward by bringing together the trusted content and technology that people and organizations need to make the right decisions. The company serves professionals across legal, tax, accounting, compliance, government, and media. Its products combine highly specialized software and insights to empower professionals with the data, intelligence, and solutions needed to make informed decisions, and to help institutions in their pursuit of justice, truth, and transparency.
Demand for solutions at the nexus of AI and legal is growing at a remarkable pace, with the market value for legaltech hitting nearly $30B last year.
"For the last ten years, we have harnessed the power of AI to build products that elevate the practice of law and enable attorneys to serve more people's legal needs, with the ultimate goal of increasing access to justice," said Jake Heller, CEO of Casetext in a press release. "Joining Thomson Reuters is an incredible opportunity to advance our mission and the field of generative AI solutions exponentially, not only for lawyers but across professions, ensuring this revolutionary technology can benefit as many people as possible."
The proposed transaction will build on Thomson Reuters’ recent initiatives, including a commitment to invest more than $100 million annually on AI capabilities, the development of new generative AI experiences across its product suite, as well as a new plugin with Microsoft and Microsoft 365 Copilot for legal professionals.
The Orrick team that advised Casetext consisted of John Bautista, Mark Seneca, Zac Padgett, Mya Johnson, Maggie Hoffman, Sky Stallbaumer, Melita Chan, Asami Ono, Alexis Savini, Stanley Santos, Mike Yang, Taylor Ball, Lauren Guilford, Steve Malvey, Kim Loocke, Ramin Tohidi, Jennifer Criss, Daniel Healow, Shaya Afshar, David Devich, Taylor Sullivan, Sulina Gabale, Shannon Yavorsky, Bianca Ponziani, Tori Downey, Craig Falls, Anna Aryankalayil, Kristin Petersen, Christy Matelis, Beth Zane, Maria Sergeyeva, Jacob Gladysz, Ramon Galvan, Jamie Larkin, Jake Heath, Sarah Meehan, and Debbie Abernathy.
Congratulations to the Casetext team, including Jake Heller, Laura Safdie and Pablo Arredondo!