TransPerfect Buys Digital Reef for Early Case Assessment

By Evan Koblentz

Law Technology News - October 5, 2012

TransPerfect Legal Solutions, a multilingual legal support services provider owned by TransPerfect Translations International Inc., on Thursday acquired early case assessment specialist and hosting provider Digital Reef Inc. for an undisclosed amount.

The companies were partners for the past three years, and Digital Reef ownership recently decided to sell, TransPerfect co-CEO Phil Shawe said, in New York.

"This is one of the first times that we've looked at an ECA application," said Jim Iseman, vice president of discovery services. The deal follows TransPerfect's April acquisition of Washington, D.C.-based e-discovery service provider Counselor Resource Group LLC, he noted.

TransPerfect is not planning any changes to Digital Reef's roadmap, but will invest in additional R&D and support staff, along with new data centers in Hong Kong, London, New York, and on the U.S. West Coast, Iseman said. The majority of Digital Reef employees are joining TransPerfect, he added.

Digital Reef recently bet on a cost-free ECA service and was sued, along with several other prominent e-discovery software companies, by a non-practicing entity for alleged patent infringement. Company founder and chief technology officer Steve Akers left in March.

Shawe said TransPerfect, which reached $300 million in sales in 2011, hopes to reach $350 million this year. The company employs about 2,500 people in 90 offices spanning 25 countries. Its clients include large law firms and corporate law departments.