We thought 2018 was a banner year for investment in legal technology companies. But then, less than two weeks into 2019, the year got off to a roaring start with news of a $200 million strategic investment in Onit, a Houston company that provides enterprise workflow products for legal management, contract management and business process automation.

To discuss one of the largest investments ever in a legal technology company, cofounder and CEO Eric M. Elfman is our guest this week on LawNext. Elfman cofounded Onit nine years ago, together with Eric Smith, now Onit’s chief technology officer. The two had previously founded DataCert, a provider of matter management and legal and IP spend management for corporate legal departments that was eventually acquired by Wolters Kluwer.

A self-described serial entrepreneur, Elfman and host Bob Ambrogi discuss why he created the company and how its products, after some early pivots, matured to where they are today. He also discusses the investment by K1 Investment Management, a Los Angeles private equity firm that specializes in investments in high-growth enterprise software companies. In addition, Elfman talks about how the legal industry and legal technology have changed over the course of his career.

This episode was recorded live at the Legalweek conference in New York City on Jan. 30, 2019.

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