Paradigm Announces Strategic Growth Investment From Francisco Partners

Investment Will Allow Legal Technology Leader to Accelerate Growth and Innovation

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Paradigm, a market leading provider of practice management software and integrated payments to the legal industry, today announced a strategic growth investment from Francisco Partners, a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses. The investment will provide Paradigm with a new financial partner to help it capitalize on its current momentum and continue to drive product innovation and growth. Paradigm was formed by ASG, a software platform company backed by Alpine investors, a people-driven private equity firm.

Paradigm has grown substantially in recent years as law firms increasingly demand cloud-based solutions that solve substantial complexity but are still easy to use. Paradigm’s platforms – PracticePanther, Bill4Time and MerusCase – currently serve 11,000 law firms. In addition, with the recent introduction of Paradigm’s own native payment solution powered by Headnote, accepting electronic payments has never been easier for Paradigm’s customers, who are quickly adopting the new solution.

“We are thrilled to announce this growth investment from Francisco Partners, which validates Paradigm’s strong position in the legal software ecosystem,” commented Soumya Nettimi, CEO of Paradigm. “With Francisco Partners’ financial support and extensive software and payments expertise, we look forward to expanding our product suite and further innovating to help law firms operate more efficiently and easily than ever before.”

Peter Christodoulo, Partner at Francisco Partners, added, “We believe Paradigm’s powerful, cloud-native suite for the legal sector positions it very well for long-term growth as a leader in the legal technology landscape. We are very excited to be partnering with Soumya, CFO / CRO Colin Li and the entire Paradigm team as they continue to drive innovation in the legal technology sector as they have the last several years in partnership with ASG.”

“Working with Soumya and Colin to build Paradigm over the last few years has been deeply rewarding,” commented Mark Strauch, Chairman of ASG and Partner at Alpine. “This is a special business and team, and we are excited about what they will achieve next in partnership with Francisco Partners.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in Q4 subject to customary closing conditions. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

William Blair served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis served as legal advisor to Paradigm and Alpine Investors. Raymond James served as financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis LLP served as legal advisor to Francisco Partners.

About Paradigm
Paradigm offers a suite of legal software solutions to help lawyers manage, automate and grow their firms. With four world-class legal practice management and payments solutions — PracticePanther, Bill4Time, MerusCase, and Headnote — managed under one roof, Paradigm empowers lawyers across the spectrum of practice area, geography, and business need. At Paradigm, we are fast-paced, ambitious and unified by a common vision to build the best legal technology products in the world.

About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the technology industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential. For more information on Francisco Partners, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

About ASG
ASG, backed by Alpine Investors, is a unique and fast-growing software business that buys and builds vertical software companies. ASG believes deeply in the power of people and data to grow great organizations, and that sharing knowledge, expertise, and resources across its community of businesses drives exponential growth. Founders of software companies continue to trust ASG to grow their businesses and build even stronger legacies for the future. For more information, visit https://www.alpinesg.com.

About Alpine Investors
Alpine Investors is a people-driven private equity firm that is committed to building enduring companies by working with, learning from, and developing exceptional people. Alpine specializes in investments in companies in the software and services industries. Its PeopleFirst strategy includes a CEO program, which allows Alpine to bring leadership to situations where additional or new management is needed post-transaction. Alpine is currently investing out of its $2.25 billion eighth fund. For more information, visit http://www.alpineinvestors.com.