mergers and acquisitions

E-discovery company Omnivere, which formed in 2014 after the merger of multiple e-discovery companies, has been acquired by legal services provider Driven Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

Currently, Omnivere supplies an all-in-one e-discovery platform and a digital forensics service, as well as runs U.S.-based data processing and data acquisition facilities. Driven, meanwhile, offers integrated ONE Discovery and Relativity platforms along with services that include litigation readiness, early case assessment, technology assisted review and trial preparation. Driven also provides contracted fixed monthly rates for e-discovery management, information governance, consulting and legal staffing.

Though Driven has a wide scope of current offerings, it saw Omnivere as a needed addition to its arsenal.

“The deal was presented to us in late summer of 2018,” explained Driven CEO Ozzy Jimenez. “We started doing the due diligence, and there are key advantages they have, how they had processed their IP. Because of our DNA in solutions we really thought we had a good home for their IP and people, and [it] would augment our geographical footprint.”

Omnivere will eventually merge its brand with Driven, but Jimenez noted they didn't want to disrupt clients with another merger too quickly.

“It will become part of Driven, eventually,” Jimenez explained. “That's because we are very sensitive about all the acquisitions in the space over the year. We want to make sure they have a good transition for their clients.”

Indeed, similar to Omnivere, Driven also isn't new to mergers. Last January, Driven merged with Update Legal Inc., a legal staffing firm. In 2015, Driven acquired LegalRadius, then a cloud-based document and deposition management software.

Driven said it will remain active in M&A deals, but its next acquisition may not be an e-discovery provider. It may look into acquiring platforms focused on data security or privacy compliance to expand its offerings, Jimenez revealed.

Mismanaged data governance leads to overburdened data management for clients, Jimenez said. Driven is pursuing software that “helps alleviate risk for clients and allows them to know the value of the data they possess.”

M&A activity is currently rampant in e-discovery. Driven's announcement comes a week after e-discovery company Epiq acquired Garretson Resolution Group, a high-volume legal dispute resolutions service provider. In December, Elevate acquired contract management and technology company Sumati Group, and Nuance Communications sold its document imaging division to Kofax, an automation software provider.