This past November, legal professionals across the country converged in Atlantic City for the annual Chopped for CHOP (Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) competition. The event featured a micro panel workshop and mock trial that pitted four respected attorneys against each other. With $12,000 worth of donations to CHOP on the line, the event promised and delivered an exciting and unexpected two days.
If you are not billing consistently, you will not make enough money—it is that simple. If you are a new attorney, you probably just don’t have a mature referral network, and even if you have been practicing for years, you know that over time, business fades, and there is a continual need to replenish your client base.
PHILADELPHIA, Dec. 05, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — CIVC Partners, L.P. (“CIVC”), a Chicago-based middle market private equity firm focused on investments in the business services and financial services industries, is pleased to announce the firm’s investment in Magna Legal Services (“Magna” or the “Company”), in partnership with the management team.
Magna provides litigation support services to over 2,000 law firms and corporations across the United States. The Company supports its clients through each phase of the litigation process including court reporting, jury evaluation and consulting, translation, video, graphic design, and record retrieval services. Magna was founded in 2007, and over the last 11 years has established itself as one of the leading and fastest growing providers of litigation support services in the industry. For additional information on Magna, visit www.magnals.com.
Magna’s entire senior management team will remain in place following the investment and will maintain a significant ownership position in the Company. The partnership will support Magna’s continued growth, both organically and through acquisitions.
The Company’s President, Bob Ackerman, said, “We are thrilled to be partnering with a CIVC team that enthusiastically shares our vision for Magna. CIVC has been an active investor for nearly 30 years and has extensive experience partnering with founder-led companies. We expect CIVC to be a value-added partner going forward as we execute on our growth strategy.”
Scott Schwartz, a partner at CIVC, commented that, “Magna is one of the leading companies of scale in a highly attractive industry defined by recurring revenue, limited cyclicality, and a fragmented base of smaller competitors. We are excited to partner with Bob Ackerman, Mark Calzaretta, Peter Hecht and Jon Ackerman to support the company in accelerating organic growth and pursuing strategic acquisitions.” Doug Potters, a principal at CIVC, added, “Magna is a tremendous investment opportunity for CIVC and a strong fit with our experience investing in growing business services companies that operate in highly fragmented industries benefiting from strong outsourcing trends.”
The partnership with Magna builds on CIVC’s investment experience in the outsourced business services industry. Other representative investments within outsourced business services include KPA (provider of compliance services), Yellowstone Landscape (provider of commercial landscape services), Magnate Worldwide (provider of asset-light logistics services), and GPRS (provider of private utility locating services).
About CIVC Partners, L.P.
CIVC Partners is a Chicago-based private equity firm investing in high growth middle market companies in the business services and financial services sectors. Since 1989, the team has invested $1.6 billion in 62 platform companies and currently invests from CIVC Partners Fund V. More information on CIVC Partners and its portfolio companies can be found at www.civc.com.
If you have an opportunity that may be an acquisition candidate for Magna, please contact Scott Schwartz (sschwartz@civc.com) or Doug Potters (dpotters@civc.com).
CIVC Press Contact
Patty Walker
CIVC Partners
(312) 873-7300
pwalker@civc.com
Congratulations to our very own Lee Diamondstein, Vice President of Strategic Accounts at Magna Legal Services, for his nomination for the Subcommittee Chair of the ABA Mass Torts Subcommittee on Experts and Evidence. In this role, Lee will be involved with participating in monthly committee calls, contributing to newsletter and website articles, supporting programming activities, and assisting in the recruitment of new members.
It has escaped precisely nobody that the new CBS drama “Bull” is playing a bit loose with the truth. In fact, that’s part of the joke. The title character is Dr. Jason Bull, played by Michael Weatherly, and he certainly looks quite a bit different than the real-life character he is based on: Dr. Phil McGraw. The idea is that he uses advanced technology and brilliant psychological insights to help the wrongly accused. Half CSI technology expert and half psychiatrist, he helps them develop bulletproof defense strategies and predict exactly how juries will react to the evidence and the testimony.
Crime drama shows would have you believe that surprise witnesses can be called whose testimony rocks the very foundation of the courtroom. In reality, the deposition procedure prevents this from happening. The deposing of a witness is part of the discovery phase, and it takes place when an individual who will eventually testify is interviewed under oath but before trial. You can learn about depositions here if you are truly unsure on the matter and looking for valuable knowledge on how they work.
The deposition occurs after the filing of a summons and it serves several purposes. The primary purpose of a deposition is to find out what the witness knows. Every piece of evidence to be presented should be known prior to the trial’s beginning, and this includes witness statements. And although depositions are considered hearsay and inadmissible in a trial, their second purpose is to preserve testimony.
Collecting depositions is an integral part of any trial. This is why legal professionals should fully understand every step in the deposition process.
Overwhelmed by the jury selection process? The American Bar Association encourages attorneys to use the expert services of jury consultants due to the subtle nature of determining inherent bias in potential jurors. But it is still the responsibility of the lead trial lawyer to choose and manage the experts, to question the prospective jurors and to make the final decisions about challenges and strikes. So here are a few things to keep in mind.
Magna Legal Services provides real-time court reporting to help you review and refer back to a hearing or trial transcript instantly. With real-time court reporting, you don’t need to incur a delay waiting to note exactly what happened and how you should respond. Realtime court reporting allows you to work effectively and efficiently with your Austin attorneys. This service helps you keep your case on track and meet all necessary deadlines, and it minimizes the wait time for a resolution.
