Source: Law Next
Clio, the cloud-based practice management platform that has dominated the small and mid-sized law firm market for 17 years, has set its sights on Big Law with the acquisition of UK-based ShareDo, a cloud enterprise case and matter management provider for large law firms.
A Strategic Shift Upmarket
This acquisition represents a significant strategic pivot for Clio, which has built its reputation serving smaller legal practices. While Clio has been gradually expanding upmarket—particularly following its record-setting $900 million funding round last July—the ShareDo acquisition marks its first major move into the enterprise legal space.
“Clio is doubling down on its mission to transform the legal experience for all, with a focus on delivering advanced, flexible, and secure technology for large law firms now, and in the future,” the company stated in its announcement.
ShareDo’s impressive client roster includes legal powerhouses such as DLA Piper, DWF, Herbert Smith Freehills, Linklaters, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The platform currently serves over 40 large law firms and approximately 13,000 legal professionals globally.
A Different Kind of Acquisition
Unlike Clio’s previous acquisitions—Lexicata (which became Clio Grow), CalendarRules, and Lawyaw (now Clio Draft)—the ShareDo purchase is notable in two key ways.
First, it targets an entirely new market segment for Clio. While the company has occasionally served specific practice groups within large firms, this acquisition represents a deliberate entry into the enterprise legal market.
Second, ShareDo will remain a standalone product rather than being integrated into Clio’s existing platform. As Ronnie Gurion, Clio’s chief operating officer, explained, enterprise law firms prefer best-of-breed point solutions over the all-in-one approaches that smaller firms favor.
“As you go to the Am Law [firms] and the really large end of the spectrum, it’s a very different proposition,” Gurion said. “It’s either practice area specific or it’s best of breed.”
Market Opportunity and Integration Plans
Clio’s leadership sees the large firm market as both strategically important to its mission and financially compelling. While large firms represent a smaller portion of total seats compared to small law, they command a disproportionately high amount of revenue and spend.
Gurion also believes the large-firm market is underserved by existing products: “There’s been a dearth of true cloud modern solutions that are built with a great UI and great customer experience and great flexibility for the enterprise market.”
While ShareDo will remain distinct from Clio’s core platform, the company plans to enhance it with Clio’s existing capabilities, such as its payments technology and Clio Duo AI features. Likewise, the acquisition may lead to the integration of some ShareDo capabilities into Clio’s platform, benefiting existing customers.
The Future of Legal Cloud Adoption
This acquisition may also accelerate cloud adoption among large law firms, which have historically been slower to make this transition. Gurion suggests this hesitancy stems not from resistance but from a lack of the right technology-support combination.
For growing mid-market firms currently using Clio, the acquisition provides a potential migration path as they expand. It also opens new partnership opportunities for Clio, expanding its already robust integration ecosystem with ShareDo’s enterprise-focused partners.
All of ShareDo’s approximately 70 employees will remain with the company, with founder and CEO Benjamin Nicholson taking the position of general manager. Clio plans to significantly expand the ShareDo team over the coming year, though financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
As Jack Newton, Clio’s founder and CEO, stated: “The large law firm market is on the brink of a major shift, and this acquisition cements our role in leading that change.”
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