BARBRI Global, the parent company of BARBRI bar review, announced it acquired West Academic, a leading publisher of legal materials for law students. The acquisition unites two of the most iconic brands in legal education.
“Like BARBRI, West Academic has a long history as a leader in the legal education market,” said Steve Fredette, CEO of BARBRI Global, in a press release. “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.”
BARBRI was founded in 1973 when Harcourt Brace Jovanovich acquired two bar reviews, Bay Area Review and Bar Review Institute. Under the leadership of Richard Conviser, the company grew to dominate the bar review market.
West Academic grew out of West Publishing, which was founded in 1908. It publishes several study aids, including its Nutshell series, Foundation Press, which it acquired in 1997, and Gilberts, which is acquired in 2000 from BARBRI.
“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. “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.”
Parton will continue to lead West Academic within BARBRI Global, and West Academic’s headquarters will remain in St. Paul, Minn., after the acquisition.
The two companies previously competed with one another. In 1995, Stan Chess, a former BARBRI executive, joined West Publishing and started a rival bar review company — West Bar Review. It was closed a few years later.
Thomson Reuters acquired BARBRI in 2001 and sold it ten years later to a private equity fund, Leeds Equity Partners, which is focused on education. Leeds saw its market shrink as the number of law school graduates declined for much of the next ten years. However, the company invested heavily into technology and innovation and expanded into new areas. It acquired iLaw Ventures in 2017. iLaw provides online education for law schools.
Francisco Partners, an investment firm that specializes in technology companies, acquired BARBRI in March 2021. In October, BARBRI acquired PowerScore, a test prep company for exams such as the LSAT, GMAT, GRE, ACT and SAT.
