Clifford Chance and Latham Invest in 'App Store for Legal Tech'



Clifford Chance and Latham & Watkins have both invested in Reynen Court—the tech venture dubbed the "App Store for legal tech."

The two firms have invested alongside Reynen Court founder and former Cravath, Swaine & Moore lawyer Andrew Klein. Both firms declined to comment on the amounts they contributed to the Series A financing round.

Alongside the investment, the chief information officers of each firm—Clifford Chance's Paul Greenwood and Latham's Ken Heaps—are both joining Reynen Court's board of directors.

According to Klein, the startup's aim is to provide law firms with a single platform to manage the procurement, deployment and management of third-party apps, akin to creating an "App Store" that provides faster and more secure access to third-party software.

“We are excited to now be well-funded, and to have capital to execute our ambitious plans,” Klein told Law.com's London-based publication, Legal Week.

Upon launching in 2017, the company raised $1.5 million, according to a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing. One London partner specializing in venture capital transactions said that given that figure, they would be surprised if the amount generated by the latest financing was below $5 million, adding that the typical range for a Series A round is between $2.5 million and $12.5 million.

The company said it is aiming to use the new funds to double its head count up to 40 employees in the next year, and “accelerate the hiring of engineers and senior leaders in other important.”

Klein said that the company is currently working with more than 50 vendors—including document automation, process engineering and artificial intelligence providers—to set them up on Reynen Court’s platform. Klein expects to have the first vendor contracts signed within a couple of months.

“As a new wave of technologies enters the legal market, we need to consider how firms and clients can access them in a secure and integrated manner," said Clifford Chance CIO Greenwood. "We see Reynen Court as the missing piece of this evolving and exciting puzzle, and we are delighted to be supporting its progress.”

Heaps added that for Latham, staying at the forefront of emerging technologies is not only a top priority but a strategic imperative. "Reynen Court is an important part of our strategy," he said. "We are thrilled to be joining its board and co-chairing the consortium of firms, who bring insights, experience and a spirit of forward-thinking collaboration. It’s an exciting time.”

In October, Clifford Chance, Linklaters, and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer were among 12 elite U.K. and U.S. firms that agreed to back Reynen's development, alongside Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, Cravath, and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

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