BARBRI Global Acquires West Academic

The acquisition unites two of the most iconic brands in legal education

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Jan 04, 2022, 10:00 ET

DALLAS, Jan. 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- BARBRI Global, the world's premier legal education provider, today announced the acquisition of West Academic, the leading U.S. publisher of casebooks, treatises, study guides, and other legal materials in both print and digital media formats. The deal brings the companies together to bring a more complete set of product offerings to law students and law schools.

"Like BARBRI, West Academic has a long history as a leader in the legal education market," said Steve Fredette, CEO of BARBRI Global. "West Academic provides industry-leading materials for tomorrow's lawyers and the schools that train them. We are thrilled to join forces under the BARBRI Global umbrella to offer an even wider set of best-in-class legal materials to students and schools around the world."

Founded in 1908, West Academic publishes materials under three brands: West Academic Publishing, Foundation Press and Gilbert. Its products range from materials designed specifically for law school courses to topical overviews that make complex legal concepts easier to understand.

"We've always embraced our history at West Academic, while also pushing to provide innovative materials to the market to address emerging areas of law and showcasing new teaching methods for law faculty," said Chris Parton CEO of West Academic, who will continue to lead West Academic within BARBRI Global. "By joining BARBRI Global, we can utilize the combined strength of both our histories in the space, and work together to reach more students with our products and expertise."

West Academic is headquartered in St. Paul, Minnesota, where it will continue its operations after the acquisition.

About BARBRI Global
BARBRI Global, part of the Francisco Partners portfolio, is a global learning and technology company dedicated to meeting the legal education and specialized training needs of law students, attorneys, and other professionals throughout their careers. BARBRI's success is built upon its unmatched technology and innovative pedagogy, combined with the ability to harness data analytics, behavioral economics, learning science, and more to develop solutions for learners and institutions. Building on the success of its core bar courses, which have helped more than 1.3 million lawyers around the world pass a U.S. bar exam, BARBRI offers a comprehensive suite of learning solutions for higher education institutions and law-related businesses that includes U.S. bar exam preparation, curriculum, assessment, global license preparation, online program management and professional development. Founded in 1967, BARBRI is headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with offices throughout the United States and around the world.

For more information, please visit www.barbri.com.

About Francisco Partners
Francisco Partners is a leading global investment firm that specializes in partnering with technology and technology-enabled businesses. Since its launch over 20 years ago, Francisco Partners has invested in more than 300 technology companies, making it one of the most active and longstanding investors in the industry. With more than $25 billion in assets under management, the firm invests in opportunities where its deep sectoral knowledge and operational expertise can help companies realize their full potential.

For more information, please visit www.franciscopartners.com.

SOURCE BARBRI