Axiom Spinoff Takes New Identity, Aiming for Growth and Its Own Niche
Axiom Managed Solutions is relaunching as Factor. With renewed support from its initial venture capital and private equity investors, it aims to double in size.
January 15, 2020 at 06:00 AM
4 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
Axiom Managed Solutions, one of two businesses spun off from alternative legal services provider Axiom in 2019, is rebranding as Factor and intends to double in size with a renewed financial commitment from its initial investors.
Chris DeConti, head of strategy for the company, said that after a decade in business, the company understood it occupied a unique role in the New Law ecosystem, with a focus on relatively complex work such as contract negotiations rather than commoditized work like e-discovery.
"We're acutely aware of the market's frustration with the amount of hype in the industry," said DeConti, emphasizing his two and a half decades of experience in the space.
"Twenty-five years ago, people were talking about innovation, and they're still talking about it today, but the legal market still looks the same way," he continued. "We think that's because legal innovation has been focused on the margins rather than the center."
DeConti argued that the company's scale set it apart from traditional law firms, and its focus distinguished it from other alternative providers, outsourcing operations and the Big Four's legal arms—which largely handle what he dismissed as "form-filling work."
The company is home to approximately 500 employees, more than half of whom are attorneys.
"Our average typical resource isn't a junior paralegal sitting far away in an offshore location, it's somebody with six years of experience, sitting in one of our centers, benefiting from technology-enabled process management," DeConti said. "That way we're bringing together the old world and the new."
Following the spin off from Axiom, which continues to operate as a flexible legal staffing company, the business now known as Factor saw substantial interest from a number of investors, according to its news release. But ultimately, leadership elected to stick with the original investors, led by private equity firm Carrick Capital Partners and venture capital firm Benchmark Capital.
"The company's market leadership and the sophistication of what it does positions it very well for growth," Carrick co-founder Jim Madden said in a statement.
DeConti said that the investors' renewed support would allow Factor to add more lawyers and make new investments in technology.
"We're not necessarily developing our own technology," he said. "We're investing in the best out there and our own proprietary configurations of that technology."
In the last five years, DeConti and colleagues have recognized the importance of "productizing" the company's offerings, rather than simply promoting capabilities like "process management" when they go to market.
"We find you need to encapsulate those capabilities into specific offerings that address client needs," he said.
Examples include capital markets documentation, which is reliant on data analytics capabilities and process management, life sciences procurement contracting, where work is driven by sensitivity to data privacy and speed to market, and technology and telecom contracting, a competitive market where speed is also critical.
"We look forward to continuing to work with Factor as they mark this important turning point," Christian Sommer, group legal director at longtime client Vodafone, said in a statement. "For years we have entrusted them to handle important and valuable work and have seen very positive results. We have other solutions for low-complexity, commoditized work but our team at Factor handles sophisticated contract negotiations that previously would have been handled by senior in-house lawyers."
|Read More
Axiom to Go Public, Applying for IPO and Spinning Off Two Businesses
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllRivals Seize Opportunity as A&O Shearman, Hogan Lovells Vacate South Africa
5 minute readSwiss Lawyers Sanctioned by U.S. Treasury Over Russia Denounce 'Political' Accusations
3 minute readExclusive: Mayer Brown Shutters Mexico City Office, Lawyers Scatter
Kingsley Napley and Lord Pannick Spearhead Private Schools' Challenge to Government VAT Policy
Trending Stories
- 1Infant Formula Judge Sanctions Kirkland's Jim Hurst: 'Overtly Crossed the Lines'
- 2Abbott, Mead Johnson Win Defense Verdict Over Preemie Infant Formula
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4Meet the Lawyers on Kamala Harris' Transition Team
- 5Trump Files $10B Suit Against CBS in Amarillo Federal Court
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250