Clio’s $1B vLex Deal Shatters the Westlaw Lexis Duopoly

Vancouver-based legal-tech provider Clio struck a $ 1 billion deal on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, to acquire Miami-headquartered vLex, combining cloud practice management with one of the world’s largest legal research databases.

The all-cash-and-stock transaction, expected to close later in 2025, would turn a long-standing two-horse race into a three-way sprint as Clio lines up against Thomson Reuters’ Westlaw and RELX-owned LexisNexis.

The most significant acquisition in Clio’s history comes less than a year after the company’s record-breaking $900 million funding round and signals a fresh wave of consolidation in legal tech.

A $1 Billion Bet on Data and AI

Founded in Barcelona and now headquartered in Miami, vLex provides access to over 1 billion documents from 100 countries, adding 350,000 documents daily, and serves more than 2 million users, including most of the AmLaw 100 firms. Private equity backer Oakley Capital, which has owned vLex since September 2022, exits with a healthy return.

Clio says the trove will feed Vincent AI—the research assistant embedded in vLex—and surface relevant cases, draft citations, and automate filings inside its practice-management dashboard.

From Duopoly to Triopoly

For four decades, U.S. lawyers have relied almost exclusively on Westlaw and Lexis—a dominance insiders jokingly refer to as the so-called “Wexis” legal duopoly. Westlaw alone holds a 28.11% market share in the legal research industry.

The purchase puts Clio in direct competition with Westlaw and LexisNexis, instantly creating a “Big Three.” Analysts expect fiercer price competition, faster product cycles, and broader access to world-class research tools for smaller firms.

Inside Vincent AI’s Accuracy Record

An independent study by the University of Minnesota and the University of Michigan found that Vincent AI creates far fewer hallucinations than OpenAI’s o1-preview. The same research showed it boosts productivity by up to 115% across five of six tested legal tasks and recorded just three hallucinations in hundreds of answers.

Lawyers who beta-tested the tool say it saves hours of cite-checking and allows them to focus on analysis rather than data gathering.

Agentic Tech, Unified Workflow

Clio argues that the merger establishes a new category of intelligent legal tech. Vincent AI can tackle multi-step research projects once a goal is given, while attorneys verify edge cases and strategies. The company plans to embed the assistant across billing, document automation, and matter management within 18 months.

Antitrust Clouds on the Horizon

Regulators may still spoil the party. Over 75% of $1 billion tech deals are subject to antitrust review, and second requests have increased by 175% since 2017. In 2023, antitrust scrutiny led to 47% of deal withdrawals, and authorities blocked 20% of digital tech mergers.

Competition lawyers say combining workflow data with the world’s largest legal content archive could raise switching costs for firms. Clio counters that the deal broadens—not narrows—choice by breaking a two-player stranglehold.

The Harvey Factor

Rival start-up Harvey AI sought $600 million for a vLex buyout last year but failed to secure funding. Instead, it formed a strategic alliance with LexisNexis in June 2025. The miss underscores how scarce high-quality legal data remains—and how vital it is to train reliable AI.

What Comes Next

If regulators approve the transaction, Clio plans to keep vLex as a standalone subscription while weaving Vincent AI throughout its product line. CEO Jack Newton envisions a world where a junior lawyer uploads discovery, sets a goal, and the system returns drafts, precedent, and risk scores in minutes.

Westlaw and LexisNexis are unlikely to watch quietly. Observers predict steeper discounts, new partnerships, or even fresh acquisitions as the traditional giants guard their turf. Either way, the era of a two-company research cartel appears to be over.

Key Takeaways:

• Clio will acquire vLex for $1 billion, with closing expected later in 2025.
• The merger ends the Wexis duopoly and creates a new Big Three in legal research.
• Vincent AI posts up to 115% productivity gains and just three hallucinations in studies.
• vLex brings more than 1 billion documents and 2 million users into Clio’s ecosystem.
• Rising antitrust scrutiny could still derail the deal.
• Harvey AI’s failed bid and later LexisNexis alliance highlight the scramble for premium legal data.