• Comment: Every reference has an access date error. Greenman (talk) 23:38, 28 May 2026 (UTC)

vLex is a legal technology company best known for Vincent, an AI-powered legal research assistant, and a global platform covering over one billion legal documents from more than 100 countries. Founded in Barcelona in 2000, it offers access to legal databases, case law, statutes, regulations, and AI-assisted research tools. In 2025, vLex was acquired by Clio for US$1 billion in what was described as the largest acquisition in legal technology history.[1]

History

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vLex was founded in Barcelona, Spain in 2000 by brothers Lluís Faus, who serves as chief executive officer, and Ángel Faus, who serves as chief technology officer.[2]

In 2019, vLex acquired Justis Publishing Ltd., a UK legal publisher with customers in more than 40 countries.[2]

In September 2022, Oakley Capital, a European private equity firm, acquired a majority ownership stake in vLex.[3]

On April 4, 2023, vLex and Fastcase announced a merger to form a combined legal research entity.[4] The combined company retained the vLex name, with Lluís Faus becoming global CEO.[3] Oakley Capital and Bain Capital Credit invested in the merged business to support global expansion and accelerate the company's AI development programme.[3] The merger was described by industry analysts as one of the most significant transactions in the history of legal technology.[3][5]

In June 2025, law practice management company Clio signed a definitive agreement to acquire vLex for US$1 billion in cash and stock.[1][2] At the time of the acquisition, vLex was deployed at eight of the world's ten largest law firms.[6] The acquisition was completed in November 2025, following regulatory approval in Spain, coinciding with Clio closing a US$500 million Series G funding round that valued the combined company at US$5 billion.[7] The deal was described as the largest mergers and acquisitions transaction in legal technology history for a privately held company.[6] The deal made vLex one of a small number of Spanish technology companies to have achieved unicorn status.[7] The acquisition was recognised by Forbes as part of its inclusion of Clio on the 2025 Cloud 100 list of the world's top private cloud companies.[8]

Platform

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vLex provides access to over one billion legal documents from more than 100 countries through a single research platform.[9] The platform covers primary and secondary legal materials, including case law, statutes, regulations, law reviews, and content from third-party publishers.[10]

The platform includes an AI assistant called Vincent, which assists legal professionals with research, summarisation of case law and statutes, and litigation analytics.[11] Vincent supports research across multiple languages, covering both domestic and international legal materials.[12]

In February 2025, the independent VALS Legal AI Report (VLAIR) benchmarked Vincent against other leading legal AI tools including Thomson Reuters CoCounsel and Harvey, evaluating performance across seven core legal tasks and comparing results against a lawyer control group.[13] A separate evaluation by law librarians compared Vincent AI against Lexis+ AI and Westlaw Precision AI, finding each platform exhibited distinct strengths across legal research tasks.[13]

Following the 2023 merger with Fastcase, the combined platform incorporated a large US legal database, including federal and state case law, court dockets, and litigation analytics previously provided by Fastcase and its Docket Alarm integration.[11]

Awards and recognition

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vLex's AI tools were named Overall Legal Research Solution Provider of the Year in the 2022 LegalTech Breakthrough Awards Programme.[10] Fastcase was twice named New Product of the Year by the American Association of Law Libraries prior to its merger with vLex.[10]

See also

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References

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  1. 1 2 "Legal software company Clio drops $1B on law data giant vLex". TechCrunch. June 30, 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 Ambrogi, Robert (June 30, 2025). "In A Mega Deal, Clio Buys vLex for $1 Billion, Merging AI, Research and Practice Management". LawNext. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Ambrogi, Robert (April 4, 2023). "In Major Legal Tech Deal, vLex and Fastcase Merge, Creating A Global Legal Research Company, Backed By Oakley Capital and Bain Capital". LawNext. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  4. "Firm Advises Fastcase on Merger with vLex". Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. April 4, 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  5. "Legal tech services vLex and Fastcase merge to form one of the world's largest global law libraries". Texas Bar Blog. April 5, 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  6. 1 2 Ambrogi, Robert (November 10, 2025). "Clio Completes Historic $1 Billion vLex Acquisition, Announces $500 Million Series G at $5 Billion Valuation". LawNext. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  7. "Clio Named to Forbes' 2025 Cloud 100 List". Forbes. September 9, 2025. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  8. "vLex – AI Legal Research Tools for Lawyers". vLex. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  9. 1 2 3 "Legal Tech & Research News: vLex and Fastcase Merge to form vLex Group". Jenkins Law Library. April 27, 2023. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  10. 1 2 "vLex AI". The Legal Wire. October 21, 2024. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  11. O'Grady, Jean (April 4, 2023). "vLex and Fastcase Merge to Form World's Largest Global Law Library". Dewey B Strategic. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
  12. 1 2 "Generative AI Tools - Generative AI Tools and Resources for Law Students". UC Davis Mabie Law Library. Retrieved 28 May 2026.
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