Template: Your Legal Tech Vendor Just Got Acquired. Here's the 30-Day Checklist.

Legal tech consolidation didn't slow down for the end of the quarter. In one week: LawSites reported on September 28 that Repario is acquiring UnitedLex, joining two alternative legal service providers. LawSites reported on September 30 that Clio acquired Learned Hand. Artificial Lawyer reported on October 1 that Opus 2 bought Bundledocs, which it said serves about 1,900 clients in 35 countries.

Each announcement says the right things about continuity and "enhanced capabilities." Sometimes that turns out to be true. Either way, your department's job is to check it. Here's a 30-day checklist you can copy into your project tracker the day one of your vendors announces a deal.

Days 0 to 7: Triage

• Confirm the facts. Read the press release and note the buyer, the expected closing date, and whether the product, brand, and support team are said to continue.
• Find the contract. Get the current agreement, every order form, the data processing agreement, and any SOWs. If you can't find them in under 10 minutes, write that down as a finding.
• Name an owner. One person in legal ops owns the review. One person in procurement or IT security supports it.
• Rate the dependency. Use one of three ratings: Critical (work stops without it), Important (painful to replace), or Convenient (easy to swap).

Days 8 to 21: Contract and data review

Clauses to check

1. Assignment and change of control. Can the vendor assign the contract to the buyer without your consent? Do you get a termination right on change of control?
2. Termination for convenience. What notice is required, and what refunds apply to prepaid fees?
3. Price protection. Are renewal increases capped? If not, assume the new owner will look at pricing.
4. Data processing and subprocessors. Will your data move to the buyer's infrastructure, a new hosting region, or new subprocessors? What notice and objection rights do you have?
5. AI and data use. Does the buyer's AI roadmap change whether your data can be used for training or product improvement?
6. Data export and deletion. What formats are available, how long do you have after termination, and will they certify deletion?
7. Service levels. Are uptime and support response times written into the contract, or just described on a web page?

Questions to send the vendor (copy and paste)

1. Will our contract be assigned to a new legal entity, and when?
2. Will our data change hosting location, environment, or subprocessors? If so, when, and what notice will we receive?
3. Is the product we use on the combined company's long-term roadmap? Is any end-of-sale or end-of-support date planned?
4. Will pricing, packaging, or renewal terms change in the next 24 months?
5. Will our account and support contacts change?
6. Will the buyer's AI policies or data-use terms apply to our data?

Days 22 to 30: Decide and document

Score each area Green, Yellow, or Red:

• Contract protections: Green if you have change-of-control rights and price caps. Red if you have neither.
• Data handling: Green if nothing moves without notice and an objection right. Red if the answers are vague.
• Roadmap: Green if the product is confirmed as a core offering. Red if "we're evaluating integration paths."
• Relationship: Green if your contacts and support model stay the same. Yellow if they're changing.

Then pick one outcome and write it down:

• Stay: mostly Green. Set a 6-month check-in.
• Stay and renegotiate: any Yellow. Use the deal as leverage to add the protections you're missing at renewal.
• Start a market scan: any Red on a Critical tool. You don't have to leave, but you should know your alternatives. Start with the legal infrastructure category.

Make the next one easier

This checklist goes much faster when contract data is structured and searchable. If you had to dig through shared drives for the order form, that's the more important lesson from the exercise. A contract lifecycle management tool that tracks assignment, renewal, and termination terms turns this from a month-long project into a few hours of work. Tracking vendor spend in an enterprise legal management platform shows you right away how much is at stake.

Acquisitions are business as usual for your vendors. Don't let one become an emergency for your department.

This article is general information, not legal advice.