Hot off the presses is news that Francisco Partners, a major global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology businesses, announced plans to acquire Elite, a legal technology company that specializes in financial management and business operations.

It will acquire it from its current owners, TPG Capital, the U.S. and European private equity platform of global alternative asset management firm TPG, and Thomson Reuters.

The acquisition will provide Elite with a new financial partner to help the company capitalize on its current momentum and continue to drive product innovation and growth, according to an announcement of the acquisition.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Founded in 1947, Elite has a long history of providing technology solutions to the legal industry, with a particular focus over the past several decades on financial and practice management systems for large and mid-sized law firms.

Its flagship products include 3E, ProLaw, eBillingHub, and MatterSphere, which help automate and streamline billing, invoicing, payments, and financial reporting for many of the world’s leading law firms.

From 2003 until June 2023, Elite was owned by Thomson Reuters. In 2023, a majority stake in Elite was acquired by private equity firm TPG for approximately $500 million, making Elite an independent company. Thomson Reuters retained a minority stake and board representation, while Elite continued to maintain integrations with Thomson Reuters products.

Since its spin-out, Elite has sought to renew its focus on innovation, including a refreshed brand and new AI-driven features, and it has continued to expand its suite of cloud-based solutions. In January 2025, Elite further expanded its offerings by acquiring Tranch, a payments and invoice automation platform catering to large law firms.

According to the announcement, Elite currently serves about 2,000 law firms, including 75% of the Am Law 100 and 72% of the Global 100.

“With Francisco Partners’ financial support and extensive legal software and payments expertise, we are confident they are the right partner to help us continue to deliver our transformative products to the legal industry,” said Mark Dorman, CEO of Elite. “Building on the success we achieved with TPG, this next phase positions Elite to scale faster, deepen our cloud and AI capabilities, and help law firms operate with greater speed, insight, and efficiency.”

Peter Christodoulo, partner at Francisco Partners, said: “Elite’s powerful, cloud-based platform for large law firms positions it perfectly for long-term growth.”

The transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2025, subject to customary closing conditions.

Francisco Partners has invested in a number of legal tech companies over the years, including Aderant, BARBRI, LegalZoom and Paradigm.

Photo of Bob Ambrogi Bob Ambrogi

Bob is a lawyer, veteran legal journalist, and award-winning blogger and podcaster. In 2011, he was named to the inaugural Fastcase 50, honoring “the law’s smartest, most courageous innovators, techies, visionaries and leaders.” Earlier in his career, he was editor-in-chief of several legal publications, including The National Law Journal, and editorial director of ALM’s Litigation Services Division.