Axiom Managed Solutions Relaunches as Factor

Global News

15
Jan
2020

Editor

Building on its position as the leading provider of solutions for complex legal work at scale within the New Law sector, Axiom Managed Solutions (AMS) today announced the relaunch of the company with a new name  –   Factor – and a new website.

The company’s original investors including Benchmark Capital and Carrick Capital are doubling down on the newly branded organization and will remain long-term investors. The moves position the firm for rapid growth as it plans to expand its market leadership and double in size at a time when clients are eager for proven, practical innovation.

This announcement marks the latest chapter in an ambitious journey begun 10 years ago when the company (as part of Axiom) pioneered the development of technology-enabled legal managed services. The company split from Axiom last year in order to focus exclusively on managed solutions. The new name and brand identity signal the culmination of the company’s independence and the launch of a new investment program.  The company will be directing investments to build out its core enabling infrastructure, new legal talent, technology partnerships and next-generation client offerings. 

“We look forward to continuing to work with Factor as they mark this important turning point,” said long-time client, Christian Sommer, Group Legal Director at Vodafone. “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.”

Upon its 2019 spin-out from Axiom, the company attracted substantial interest from a wide range of strategic and financial investors. Following successful and unexpectedly rapid exits from Axiom, however, the company’s original investors were eager to remain in the rapidly growing legal innovation sector and saw renewed commitment to Factor as the best opportunity in the space.    

“Factor is unique in the market, with its focus on more complex work like contract negotiations rather than commoditized work like e-discovery, which continues to be the primary source of revenue for ALSPs. The company’s market leadership and the sophistication of what it does positions it very well for growth,” said Jim Madden, co-founder of Carrick Capital and founder of business process outsourcing (BPO) provider, Exult. 

After a decade of cautious experimentation among providers of managed legal solutions, the market has matured and is entering a new era in innovation. “Applying innovation to commoditized work delivered real savings but ultimately didn’t move the dial because most legal work isn’t commoditized” said Chris DeConti, Head of Strategy for Factor. “Factor represents Legal Innovation 2.0 aimed not at the fringes of low-value work but at the transactional legal work that takes up most of a legal function’s time.”  

He added: “Corporate legal departments are still looking for the critical factor that effectively brings together the legal skill and experience of traditional law with the process efficiency and tech-enablement of New Law. By bringing these elements together, Factor empowers GCs to focus their department on core legal advisory work. We free up in-house lawyers from important but time-consuming transactional work so they can spend more time doing what they alone can do: advising the business on the balance between commercial objectives and legal risk.”