Harbor Fills with Stout Legal Management Consulting
Harbor, an expert services provider to the legal industry, announces its acquisition of the Legal Management Consulting practice from Stout, a global investment bank and advisory firm. Adding the Stout team will enable Harbor to deliver advisory services and managed services for e-discovery, legal holds and data management to corporate law departments and law firms. The acquisition also bolsters Harbor's capabilities in enterprise legal management (ELM), contract lifecycle management (CLM), other corporate legal operations, and technology assessments.
The former Stout team has collectively served 125 Fortune 500 law departments. Harbor previously referred e-discovery and legal hold advisory and implementation projects to the Stout Legal Management Consulting practice, which was recognised as both a Pacesetter and Market Leader in Legal Operations by ALM Intelligence in 2021.
"Many corporate law departments we work with know Jim Mitchell, Stacie Neeter, and their team as trusted advisors. Having collaborated with the Legal Management Consulting practice at Stout over many years, we are confident in their expertise and commitment to client success," said Matt Sunderman, CEO, Harbor. "By growing our risk and compliance management capabilities, we are helping Harbor clients meet their current challenges head-on, working with them as an end-to-end partner for professional services."
Jim Mitchell and Stacie Neeter, who led Stout's Legal Management Consulting practice, each bring over two decades of experience advising corporate law departments and law firms. Their clients include energy, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and financial services enterprises.
"Law departments today are under considerable pressure to streamline operations by adapting their business processes, using technology strategically, and making the most of their data. As part of Harbor, we will be able to deliver services more effectively to the legal market as advisors and as hands-on resources," said Jim Mitchell.
"Harbor is a natural fit for our team. Its focus on the legal ecosystem and its scale are compelling to our clients in the Fortune 500, and we look forward to even closer collaboration with our new colleagues as we help corporate law departments and their outside counsel achieve their goals," said Stacie Neeter.
The acquisition is the first corporate milestone for Harbor since announcing its launch as a new company in August 2023. Previously known as HBR Consulting, + LAC Group + Wilson Allen, Harbor serves more than 80% of Global 200 law firms and 50% of the Fortune 500.
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