Dive Brief:
- The legal talent platform Axiom has acquired Plexus Engage, an Australian company that similarly provides flexible lawyers to in-house legal departments to support projects or enhance internal capacity.
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Axiom said its purchase will allow it to enter Australia, as well expand its footprint in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Axiom told Legal Dive that it is “at the forefront of the expanding legal market in Asia, most notably in Hong Kong and Singapore.”
- “This acquisition is a natural extension of our current business in the APAC region, and we plan to invest heavily in this business to drive growth in Australia and adjacent geographic markets,” said David McVeigh, Axiom’s CEO, in a press release.
Dive Insight:
David Pierce, Axiom’s chief commercial officer, previously told Legal Dive that Axiom has doubled down on its core business of connecting legal departments with attorneys who it says provide law firm-caliber work at significantly reduced cost.
The company’s purchase of Plexus Engage, a subsidiary of the Australian legal technology company Plexus, will allow Axiom to add more than 80 lawyers to its existing bench of 6,900-plus lawyers.
The Australian attorneys from Plexus Engage serve clients in the software, transportation, insurance, business services, hospitality, utilities and retail industries. They also serve government and educational entities.
"Plexus Engage provides Axiom with an experienced team with a proven track record of driving both growth and profitability in the Australian market," McVeigh said. "Our common goal is to provide legal departments with the flexibility and quality they need to drive efficiency and innovation – a priority in these challenging economic times.”
Axiom said the acquisition will also allow it to offer its global clients local legal services in Australia and provide Australia-headquartered clients access to Axiom services in North America, Europe, and Asia. Axiom counts more than half of the Fortune 500 as clients and performs more than 3,000 engagements annually.
Richard Kohinga, Plexus Engage’s general manager, will continue to lead the organization that will now operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Axiom called Axiom Global Australia. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
The purchase comes at a time in which Axiom has seen its lawyer network grow significantly, in part due to an increasing desire among lawyers for flexible work opportunities.
Axiom told Legal Dive that it hired roughly 1,000 lawyers last year, which was a record, and is on pace to hire 1,100 in this year.
