Tracked deals
9
9 tracked deals across 2021-2026.
Legal Services Buyers & Acquisitions in Illinois
Buyer mix
Strategic-led
8 strategic · 4 pe
Top trend
Volume peaked in 2023
5 tracked deals announced in 2023.
Buyer Snapshot
Top Buyers
Illustrative buyers pulled from tracked transactions on this page. This table is capped and intentionally non-exhaustive.
| Buyer | # Deals | Focus | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aquiline Capital Partners (investment fund manager) | 1 | Private investment firm focused on financial services and... | PE |
| Array | 1 | Nationwide litigation support firm providing eDiscovery, ... | Strategic |
| Blue Sage Capital | 1 | Austin-based private equity firm investing in lower middl... | PE |
| Counsel Press Inc. | 1 | Technology-enabled litigation support platform offering a... | Strategic |
| Epiq | 1 | Global technology-enabled legal services and solutions pr... | Strategic (PE-backed) |
| Funds advised by Apax | 1 | Global private equity firm that advises funds investing i... | PE |
| Lexitas | 1 | Technology-enabled provider of litigation support service... | Strategic (PE-backed) |
| Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle LLC (MPS Law) | 1 | Regional business-to-business law firm focused on commerc... | Strategic |
| Purpose Legal | 1 | Provider of eDiscovery, digital forensics, AI-powered man... | Strategic (PE-backed) |
| Raines Feldman | 1 | Full-service business law firm offering corporate, litiga... | Strategic |
Acquisition Volume in Legal Services in Illinois by Year
Last 5 years
Actual
Full-year estimate
Supporting Data
Recent Transactions
-
January 16, 2026
- Buyer
- Purpose Legal, Blue Sage Capital
- Target
- Hire Counsel
- Seller
- Long Point Capital
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Addon
Purpose Legal has acquired Hire Counsel, a 30+-year managed review and flexible legal staffing provider, to create an integrated managed review, staffing and legal technology platform. The deal—supported by Purpose Legal’s majority investor Blue Sage Capital and with Hire Counsel previously held by Long Point Capital—combines Hire Counsel’s talent network and delivery capabilities with Purpose Legal’s eDiscovery, digital forensics and AI-enabled review services; financial terms were not disclosed.
-
September 18, 2025
- Buyer
- Counsel Press Inc.
- Target
- Firefly Legal
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Counsel Press Inc., a technology-enabled litigation support platform, has acquired Firefly Legal, a Mokena, Illinois-based provider of service of process, skip tracing, and court e-filing services. The acquisition expands Counsel Press's service-of-process footprint and enhances its nationwide litigation support capabilities.
-
November 28, 2023
- Buyer
- Epiq
- Target
- Mainspring Consulting Group
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Epiq has acquired Mainspring Consulting Group, a specialist in contract lifecycle management (CLM) strategy, implementation, and contract migrations, to expand its Contracts Solutions offering. The deal adds CLM system integration and implementation expertise — including vendor partnerships with Agiloft, Conga, Ironclad, ContractPodAI, and Malbek — to Epiq’s Legal Service Management capabilities.
-
November 9, 2023
- Buyer
- Array
- Target
- Acorn Legal Solutions
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Array, a nationwide litigation support firm, has acquired Acorn Legal Solutions to enhance Array's eDiscovery capabilities and expand its geographic footprint (including increased presence in Michigan, Chicago and Texas). The acquisition brings Acorn's eDiscovery expertise and client relationships into Array's platform; Kenyon Group served as exclusive financial advisor to Acorn.
-
- Buyer
- Raines Feldman
- Target
- Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Los Angeles-based law firm Raines Feldman has added Chicago-based Sugar Felsenthal Grais & Helsinger (SFGH), expanding Raines Feldman’s national footprint and establishing a Chicago office. The transaction brings SFGH’s estate planning, tax, litigation, real estate, affordable housing and other practices into Raines Feldman’s platform to broaden capabilities for middle-market and high-net-worth clients.
-
January 24, 2023
- Buyer
- Smith, Gambrell & Russell, LLP
- Target
- Freeborn & Peters LLP
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLP and Freeborn & Peters LLP have combined, with the merged firm operating under the Smith Gambrell Russell name effective March 1, 2023. The combination creates a nearly 400-attorney global firm (AmLaw ~132) and is intended to expand geographic footprint and complementary practice capabilities—particularly bolstering corporate and litigation platforms and adding strength in insurance/reinsurance and international arbitration.
-
January 17, 2023
- Buyer
- Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle LLC (MPS Law)
- Target
- Kaplan Saunders Valente & Beninati LLP (KSVB)
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
Meltzer, Purtill & Stelle LLC (MPS Law) acquired Chicago-based Kaplan Saunders Valente & Beninati LLP (KSVB), effective January 1, 2023. Five KSVB attorneys joined MPS, bolstering MPS's commercial real estate, lending and M&A practices while adding ADA litigation, employment law and equipment leasing capabilities.
-
October 4, 2022
- Buyer
- Lexitas, Funds advised by Apax
- Target
- Grove & Associates
- Seller
- Kathie Grove (Founder / Owner)
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Addon
Lexitas, a portfolio company of funds advised by Apax, has acquired Grove & Associates, a Wheaton, Illinois-based court reporting and legal videography firm founded in 1999 by Kathie Grove. The deal expands Lexitas' presence west of Chicago and adds Grove's experienced team of reporters and videographers to Lexitas' nationwide litigation support platform.
-
- Buyer
- Investment fund managed by Aquiline Capital Partners LLC, Investment funds managed by Stone Point Capital LLC (partnering to combine Xact with Consilio)
- Target
- Xact Data Discovery
- Seller
- JLL Partners
- Industry
- Legal Services
- Location
- Illinois, United States
- Type
- Buyout
JLL Partners has signed a definitive agreement to sell Xact Data Discovery (Xact), a provider of eDiscovery, data management and managed review services, to an investment fund managed by Aquiline Capital Partners. Aquiline and investment funds managed by Stone Point intend to combine Xact with Consilio following close; closing was expected in May 2021 and is subject to customary conditions.
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