Duff & Phelps, an independent financial advisory and investment banking firm, announced this week that it has acquired iEnvision Technology, an advisory firm that provides law firms and corporate legal departments with Information Lifecycle Management (ILM) solutions.

The transaction adds 24 professionals to the Duff & Phelps' Dispute and Legal Management Consulting (DLMC) business. iEnvision founder and President Matthew Hobbs, who joins Duff & Phelps as a managing director, brings particular expertise in management consulting and business process development, along with his team's deep relationships with law firms, corporate legal departments, health sciences companies and financial services firms.

The acquisition further strengthens Duff & Phelps' DLMC team, with services that maximize corporate and government legal department performance and efficiency in the areas of strategy, operations, technology and implementation, compliance and risk management. For law firms, the team focuses on enhancing organizational effectiveness and strategic planning as well as gathering and managing information required by investigations and the discovery process in litigation matters.

Established in 1997, iEnvision Technology is a global technology consulting firm that specializes in identifying, developing and implementing ILM solutions that primarily encompass enterprise content management, business process management and paper-to-digital filing. Additional services focus on matter-centric computing, email management, compliance and ongoing technical support for law firms, corporate legal departments and financial services organizations, as well as training resources for on-site, remote or simple “quick reference guide” documentation. The iEnvision team conducts most installation, customization, and integration via remote access, reducing travel expense to the client and minimizing the impact to the environment. 

“Legal professionals must manage increasingly large volumes of data in myriad forms with very limited resources, and the addition of our new colleagues from iEnvision underscores Duff & Phelps' longstanding commitment to helping law firms and corporate legal departments handle these challenges effectively and efficiently," said Greg Higgins, leader of the firm's DLMC team.

The acquisition of iEnvision is the latest in a series that enhances Duff & Phelps' DLMC group. Other strategic transactions include Toronto-based financial advisors Cole & Partners and legal management advisors June Consulting Group, both in 2010, as well as investigative and advisory firm Harvester Forensics Limited in May 2012.