Legal
business
management
company
Aderant
today
announced
it
has
acquired
Virtual
Pricing
Director
(VPD),
the
London-based
company
that
created
the
legal
industry’s
first
practice
management-agnostic
pricing
platform.
The
acquisition
brings
together
Aderant’s
financial
and
matter
management
products
with
VPD’s
AI-powered
pricing
tools
and
the
expertise
of
VPD
founder
Richard
Burcher,
who
is
internationally
recognized
as
a
leading
authority
on
law
firm
pricing.
Founded
in
2017
in
the
U.K.,
VPD
specializes
in
providing
cloud-based
software
that
leverages
artificial
intelligence,
structured
logic
and
adaptive
workflows
to
help
law
firms
automate
and
optimize
their
pricing
strategies.
The
platform
uses
AI
to
combine
firm
data
with
established
pricing
principles,
enabling
lawyers
to
scope
engagements,
model
multiple
pricing
scenarios,
and
forecast
profitability.
VPD
works
across
different
practice
management
systems,
making
it
accessible
to
firms
regardless
of
their
existing
technology
infrastructure.
Burcher,
a
former
managing
partner
who
also
founded
the
legal
pricing
consultancy
Validatum,
has
worked
with
leading
law
firms
worldwide
to
develop
client-focused
pricing
models
and
commercial
strategies.
Plans
For
Integration
“Virtual
Pricing
Director
and
Richard
Burcher
have
defined
what
best-in-class
pricing
looks
like
for
the
world’s
top
firms,”
said
Chris
Cartrett,
president
and
CEO
of
Aderant.
“By
bringing
this
thought
leadership
and
innovation
into
Aderant,
we’re
giving
firms
everywhere
the
ability
to
make
smarter,
faster
and
more
transparent
pricing
decisions
that
directly
drive
profitability.”
VPD
will
remain
available
as
a
standalone
platform,
maintaining
its
practice
management-agnostic
approach.
However,
Aderant
plans
to
deepen
integration
with
its
existing
products
over
the
next
year,
connecting
pricing
intelligence
with
time
and
billing,
financial
management,
and
analytics
capabilities.
The
acquisition
comes
as
law
firms
face
mounting
pressure
to
move
beyond
traditional
hourly
billing
models.
Clients
increasingly
expect
fee
transparency,
alternative
fee
arrangements,
and
predictable
value
delivery
—
demands
that
require
sophisticated
pricing
intelligence
and
data
analytics.
By
integrating
VPD’s
AI-driven
modeling
and
profitability
forecasting
with
Aderant’s
comprehensive
practice
management
ecosystem,
the
combined
platform
aims
to
connect
how
legal
work
is
priced,
delivered
and
measured,
Aderant
said.
“For
years,
our
focus
has
been
helping
firms
approach
pricing
as
both
a
science
and
a
client
experience
—
balancing
commercial
intelligence
with
trust
and
transparency,”
Burcher
said.
“With
Aderant’s
scale
and
vision,
we
can
now
embed
those
best
practices,
powered
by
AI,
into
the
everyday
operations
of
law
firms
around
the
world.”
The
companies
did
not
disclose
the
terms
of
the
deal.