Pioneer of the first internet IPO returns with novel legaltech public stock offering

USA/Canada News

22
Sep
2022

Editor

Reynen Court Inc., a growth-stage legal technology company, today announced the launch of an innovative online stock offering designed to make motivated shareholders out of lawyers and legal technology enthusiasts eager to accelerate transformation of the legal industry.

The company is already backed by top law firms and venture capital funds and was founded by serial entrepreneur Andrew D. Klein, pioneer of the first internet IPO.

Founded in 2018, Reynen Court provides a platform, akin to an app store, that makes it easy for law firms and legal departments to find, test, adopt, and strategically manage third-party cloud-based software applications without having to relinquish control over their data. 

Reynen Court's platform is already licensed by 26 of the world's largest law firms. More than 160 legal tech vendors are participating on the other side of the marketplace. Venture funds and four top law firms have invested $19 million of initial capital.

The offering, which will be conducted under Rule 506(c) of the federal securities laws and accessible at https://invest.reynencourt.com,  is groundbreaking in its use of social media and other forms of general solicitation to attract individual shareholders to a mission to help define, adopt, and support technology standards designed to drive down costs for both the buyers and sellers of technology. The offering is an extension of the company's recently completed financing round led by Ventech, a $1 billion global venture capital fund.

From the start, Reynen Court has leveraged the power of community to set standards. Klein established a consortium of 20 of the world's largest law firms to help him develop the business from its first phase. More recently Reynen Court formed a second consortium of 22 of the most influential corporate legal departments. The global law firms Latham & Watkins, Clifford Chance, Nishimura & Asahi, and Orrick were early investors—further proof of the value Big Law sees in Reynen Court's services and business model. Three venture capital funds also became early investors in company.

"We believe passionately in the power of community," said Mr. Klein.  "We intend to secure capital to fuel further growth and at the same time greatly enhance our alignment with the larger legal community—the very lawyers, technologists, and innovation professionals who are the real drivers of our industry's future."

The idea of aligning the interests of a company with public affinity groups is not a new idea for Mr. Klein.

After graduating from Harvard Law School, Klein worked for five years as a corporate lawyer at Cravath, Swaine and Moore, until 1993, when he left legal practice to start his first company, a microbrewery called Spring Street Brewing Co. In 1995, he had the idea to raise capital for the brewery by offering shares through the internet to the growing community of craft beer consumers. No company had ever used a website or email to raise capital. The beer company raised a few million dollars in what became widely recognized as the world's first online stock offering.

In 1996 Klein went on to establish the internet's first investment bank, Wit Capital, and in the following years Wit managed NASDAQ public stock offerings for more than 300 technology companies—regularly helping issuers make shares available to their own customers. Wit Capital itself went public in 1999, recorded annual revenues of $400 million by 2001, and ultimately was acquired by Charles Schwab.

"Driven by the same spirit that propelled Spring Street Brewing Company and then Wit Capital, we are today offering individual investors the opportunity to invest in Reynen Court," Klein said. "We are incredibly excited to see lawyers and legal technology enthusiasts become shareholders, join our community, and help us help the industry to transform and modernize."

The offering is open to U.S. Accredited Investors. To access the offering, click here.