Filevine Puts $108M Series D In Place As Investors Make Argument For Legal Tech

The legal sector always moves slowly and deliberately, however its long-awaited embrace of technology seems to be real.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Filevine became the latest legal tech startup to close a large round this year when the legal work platform closed a $108 million Series D led by StepStone Group. Founded in 2014, the company—whose SaaS platform allows law firms to manage documents and collaborate—has now raised more than $225 million, according to Crunchbase data.

That is far from the only big round this year. In January, San Francisco-based contracting platform Ironclad raised a $150 Series E led by Franklin Templeton. Then, just earlier this month, Boston-based contract management platform LinkSquares closed a $100 million Series C led by G Squared at a $800 million valuation.

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Overall, VC-backed startups in the legal tech sector have already seen $612 million poured into the space this year in 57 deals, according to Crunchbase. That comes after a record year of more than $1.6 billion invested in 175 deals last year. In 2020, the sector saw only $522 million come in from investors.

Law firms—and the legal sector in general—have seemingly become more open to new technologies as they grapple with many of the same outside forces other companies and businesses have through the past few years.

The legal world was affected just like every other industry by the effects of COVID-19, with more staff working remotely and many older on-premise solutions needing to be expanded. In addition, legal and professional services are being affected by the “Great Resignation” and a shortage of talent. They now are turning to technology to fill some of the open gaps left behind.

Even though the pandemic seems to be winding down and people are returning to the office, the workforce is still very much in flux, so technologies that help the legal wheels turn are likely to remain in demand—by both law firms and investors.

Illustration: Dom Guzman