Workflow software company Onit recently announced its acquisition of legal startup McCarthyFinch, said Tech Crunch. This is in line with Onit’s goal to improve its legal workflow software.
The Houston-based software company evaluated six companies in the AI space but chose McCarthyFinch as it “stood out from the pack,” according to Onit CEO and co-founder Eric M. Elfman, “They had the strongest technology and the strongest team.”
Elfman added, “Part of what really got me excited about McCarthy Finch was the very first conversation I had with their CEO, Nick Whitehouse. They considered themselves an AI platform, which complemented our approach and our workflow automation platform, Apptitude.”
In a post by Onit on its website regarding the agreement, the technology will allow “legal professionals [to] accelerate contract reviews and approvals by up to 70% and increase productivity by more than 50%.”
Elfman considers AI as an extension of human evolution. With this, the company seeks to create an AI that works well with its various platforms and product.
To incorporate the services by the two firms, Onit will be offering two new products namely Precedent and ReviewAI.
Precedent is an intelligent offering “that reads, writes, and reasons like a lawyer.” This will work in addition to Apptitude. This service will be the first by Onit that exists in two platforms.
ReviewAI, on the other hand, is the first product released on Precedent. It is expected to bring “AI to pre-signature contract review, streamlining intelligent activities like contract creation, redlining, complex negotiation, and risk rating contracts.”
McCarthyFinch CEO and co-founder Nick Whitehouse said that Onit’s proposal came at the right time as the company was deciding to raise funds or to be acquired. However, Whitehouse wanted to consider partnering up before deciding to go with the acquisition.
All negotiations regarding this deal occurred online through Zoom meetings as the law company is based in New Zealand.
With McCarthyFinch being a Disrupt Battlefield participant, Whitehouse felt that the experience was able to help him make the right decision.
Regarding the new service, Whitehouse is optimistic about its impact on the legal industry, especially as contract drafting and document redlining are known to take up to 70% of lawyers’ time. The new product suggests a “better way to work”
He added that this will change the contract management lifecycle and allow businesses to undergo processes faster with higher-quality services.
