Litera has won the Customer Intelligence Platform of the Year award in the MarTech Breakthrough Awards for Foundation Proactive, a category in the global marketing technology programme.
Part of Litera's GrowthTech business, Foundation Proactive is built with technology from Postilize. It is designed for law firms to identify client events, connect them to potential legal work, and prepare tailored outreach for lawyers to approve in Outlook.
The recognition puts a legal sector product in a programme more commonly associated with marketing, sales, and advertising technology. MarTech Breakthrough said the awards drew thousands of nominations from more than 15 countries across categories including marketing automation, customer experience, sales technology, and revenue operations.
Litera said the product draws on three decades of relationship data. It combines that information with AI tools that flag developments such as executive moves, financings, and restructurings, then suggests communications in a lawyer's own tone.
The system also scores and tracks relationship strength, prompts lawyers to maintain contact, and continuously updates CRM records. The aim is to help firms move beyond reactive business development models that rely on referrals or formal pitches.
Grant Hewlett, vice president of product for firm intelligence at Litera, linked the product to a broader debate in professional services over whether AI tools can contribute to revenue growth as well as internal efficiency.
"While most AI tools help professionals work faster, fewer help them to grow the business," Hewlett said. "That's the gap Foundation Proactive was built to close for law firms. By combining our 30 years of relationship data with AI that surfaces the right client, at the right moment, with the right context, we've turned relationship intelligence into a growth engine. Winning a MarTech Breakthrough Award alongside the best in marketing and revenue technology signals the growth playbook we've built for legal applies far beyond it."
Legal growth
The award comes as legal technology suppliers expand beyond document drafting and workflow tools into business development and client relationship management. The shift reflects pressure on law firms to show that AI spending can support fee income as well as productivity.
Kelsey Dellovo, partner and chief client service officer at Baretz+Brunelle, said the issue had become central in conversations across the legal market.
"We work with leaders in legal every day on the challenge of turning AI-driven efficiency into real business growth, and the entire legal industry is grappling with this conversation," Dellovo said. "This recognition validates what we've heard from law firm executives. The growth gap is real, and the solutions that close the gap are starting to be recognized well beyond legal."
Postilize, which underpins Foundation Proactive, was founded in 2023 and focuses on legal relationship management. Its technology tracks business events in real time, analyses relationship strength, and automates outreach, integrating with CRM systems and communication tools used by firms.
For Litera, the award adds to its push to broaden its position in legal software. The company serves more than 15,000 customers globally and more than 1 million daily users, including nearly all of the Am Law 100, with products spanning drafting, document comparison, contract review, knowledge management, and business development.
Award context
MarTech Breakthrough described Foundation Proactive as a tool that helps firms act earlier in pursuit of new work. Judges' comments focused on the legal sector's tendency to respond to client demand rather than anticipate it.
"Foundation Proactive gives law firms the ability to act, not react," said Steve Johansson, managing director at MarTech Breakthrough. "Most firms operate reactively, responding to RFPs, relying on referrals, and waiting for clients to come to them. Yet many clients spread their legal relationships across multiple firms simultaneously, with many changing firms due to a lack of communication, not pricing or performance. By leveraging Postilize to analyze relationship signals daily and surfacing the right message at the right time, Foundation Proactive keeps firms top of mind so they can deliver value before competitors even recognize the opportunity."