Immigration tech platform Docketwise was acquired by MyCase in an effort to ‘modernize’ legal tools

Philly-based Docketwise, an app and software platform serving the immigration space, was recently acquired by MyCase, a cloud-based legal practice management software company based out of San Diego, as cofounders Jeremy Peskin told Technical.ly.

Peskin and cofounder James Pittman are also behind 2016-founded Borderwise, an app that offers an online immigration application platform. Peskin was a practicing lawyer when he started the process to gain U.S. citizenship, after getting married about six years ago, and realized that tech-enabled resources could make the processes smoother. Borderwise and Docketwise — an attorney-facing app with software that manages immigration cases — were the cofounders’ answers to the complicated processes at hand.

In 2020, the pair opened up Docketwise’s API so it could more easily build upon or work with other applications. The decision was made to help attorneys using the app to more seamlessly connect Docketwise with their calendars, other virtual document forms or case management systems. The API opening has enabled some “really amazing immigration tech startups to build their businesses on top of our user base,” Peskin said, including ImmiTranslate, YoTengoBot and LaborLess.

Since 2020, Docketwise’s team grew from five to more than 20 and continues to grow, Peskin said. It has doubled its revenue, ARR and team year over year since then. The company now boasts more than 6,000 customers across more than 2,500 law firms, nonprofits and companies. Docketwise has also launched iPhone and Android apps, introduced two-way text messaging and “expanded beyond niche immigration-related offerings” to serve the case management software space for immigration firms.

“We’ve always sought to empower law firms with the technology they love and that is exactly the kind of software that Jeremy and James have built at Docketwise,” said Jim McGinnis, CEO of MyCase, in a statement. “This acquisition offers an exciting opportunity to bring modern tools to a broader set of immigration law firms.”

MyCase’s acquisition of Docketwise allows the products to better integrate, the companies said in a statement, and allows firms to automate the preparation of immigration forms stored in Docketwise without duplicating data into both platforms. Customers can customize, share or print forms in more than seven languages.

Private equity firm Apax Partners purchased MyCase in 2020. Since then, it has acquired several peers in the legal tech ecosystem, Peskin said, like CASEpeer, Soluno and Woodpecker. That move was integral to this deal, he added.

“I feel that MyCase is doing something very special in the legaltech world by uniting these brands and I wanted to be a part of that,” Peskin told Technical.ly of the acquisition. “The opportunity to collaborate, learn from and grow with MyCase and other tech companies with similar aspirations in adjacent markets, all under one roof, really appealed to us.”

Peskin credited the Philly tech ecosystem for the company’s growth and success.

“I learned to bootstrap an MVP in [Philly Startup Leader‘s] Startup Bootcamp, then earned our first customers through [its] accelerator,” he said. “I’ll always be grateful for the support we received here.”