What Carolina Academic Press does

Carolina Academic Press (CAP) is a privately held academic publisher founded in 1974 and headquartered at 700 Kent St, Durham, North Carolina. The company specializes exclusively in law school educational materials, producing casebooks, treatises, statutory supplements, and state-specific legal research guides across core subjects such as Constitutional Law, Criminal Law, Torts, Administrative Law, Admiralty and Maritime Law, Entertainment Law, and Taxation. It is a sole-source publisher within a narrow vertical: U.S. legal education, with no exposure to general academic, trade, or consumer publishing.

The company's product portfolio extends beyond printed textbooks through a group of digital and educational-service offerings. CAPxp provides supplementary educational services for law students, Core Knowledge for Lawyers delivers exercises and assessments, Click & Learn Civil Procedure offers an interactive study tool, and CAP Law Online helps law schools transition to digital learning. The acquisition of the LexisNexis Matthew Bender law school publishing list expanded the title catalog and strengthened CAP's position as one of the few remaining independent specialists in legal academic publishing.

CAP's business model is anchored in B2B/B2C book sales to law students, faculty authors who adopt or write the texts, and institutional buyers such as law school libraries and bookstores. Distribution runs through the company's own e-commerce site (cap-press.com), direct institutional sales, and seasonal PDF catalogs. Revenue is generated primarily through unit sales of textbooks, recurring statutory supplement reprints, and ancillary digital learning subscriptions; pricing is not publicly disclosed. The company is privately held with no external institutional investors identified, operating with 11–50 employees.

Name

Carolina Academic Press

Legal name

Carolina Academic Press

Website

https://caplaw.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1974

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carolina Academic Press is a privately held, Durham, NC-based academic publisher founded in 1974 that specializes exclusively in U.S. law school casebooks, treatises, statutory supplements, and state-specific legal research guides, serving law students, faculty, and institutional libraries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Law Publishing

NAICS

Book Publishers (513130), Book Publishers (51313), Periodical Publishers (51312), Periodical Publishers (513120)

SIC

Books: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2731), Periodicals: Publishing Or Publishing & Printing (2721)

akta.pro primary industry

Law & Legal Studies (EDAGABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Higher Education Textbook Publishing (MPAJABAB), Reference Works & Academic Databases (Encyclopedias, Indexes, Abstracts) (MPAJABAI), Law & Legal Studies Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAG)

Keywords

• Law school textbooks
• Legal publishing
• Legal research guides
• Statutory supplements
• Academic law books

Headquarters

HQ city

Durham

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Digital Commerce or Content

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Carolina Academic Press is an academic law book publisher that produces casebooks, treatises, statutory supplements, and state-specific legal research guides covering core law school subjects such as constitutional law, criminal law, torts, administrative law, admiralty law, entertainment law, and taxation. The catalog has been expanded through the acquisition of the LexisNexis Matthew Bender law school publishing list, and the company complements its books with online educational services such as CAPxp, Core Knowledge for Lawyers, Click & Learn Civil Procedure, and CAP Law Online.

Product overview

Carolina Academic Press (CAP) operates as an academic law book publisher offering a comprehensive portfolio of legal educational materials. The core offering consists of law textbooks, treatises, and casebooks covering diverse legal disciplines including constitutional law, criminal law, torts, administrative law, admiralty law, entertainment law, and taxation. CAP also publishes state-specific legal research guides and statutory supplements. The company has expanded through acquisition of the LexisNexis Matthew Bender education publishing list. Supplementary educational services include CAPxp educational services, Core Knowledge for Lawyers exercises and assessments, Click & Learn Civil Procedure study guides, and CAP Law Online transition services for law schools moving to digital platforms. CAP primarily serves law students, libraries, bookstores, and faculty/authors in the legal education market.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAPxp: Educational services for law students
• CAP Law
• CAP Law Online

Products and services

• Law Textbooks and Treatises

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LexisNexis Legal & ProfessionalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCarolina Academic Press acquired the LexisNexis Matthew Bender law school publishing list from LexisNexis. This acquisition expands CAP's catalog of law school educational materials and strengthens its position in legal academic publishing.
• CAPxp Educational ServicesminorOthersCAPxp provides educational services complementing CAP's publishing business

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LexisNexis (RELX): LexisNexis Matthew Bender historically published law school titles and digital research tools; CAP's recent acquisition of its education list makes LexisNexis both a former direct competitor and a counterparty.
• Foundation Press: Long-standing US law school casebook imprint (now part of West Academic) that directly competes with CAP for required course textbook adoptions.
• Edward Elgar Publishing: Independent academic publisher with a deep law and social sciences list of textbooks and scholarly monographs — closely comparable niche model to CAP.
• West Academic Publishing: Subsidiary of Thomson Reuters focused on law school casebooks, treatises, and study aids — the closest direct competitor to CAP in US legal academic publishing.
• Wolters Kluwer (Aspen Publishers): Wolters Kluwer's Aspen Publishers imprint publishes casebooks and legal textbooks for US law schools, competing head-to-head with CAP for course adoptions.

Emerging players

• Bloomberg Law: Digital legal research and practice platform that increasingly offers law school programs and casebook-adjacent content, representing a digital-native competitive vector to traditional casebook publishers like CAP.
• Yale University Press (Law): University press with a selective list of legal scholarship, casebooks, and policy titles — partial overlap with CAP's academic law catalog.

Broad incumbents

• Cambridge University Press (Law): Publishes law textbooks, casebooks, and peer-reviewed legal journals — overlaps with CAP in scholarly legal publishing but with broader academic scope and international reach.
• Routledge (Taylor & Francis): Major academic publisher with a sizable law textbook and reference list, competing with CAP for law school adoptions and library purchases at scale.
• Oxford University Press (Law): Academic press with a substantial law list of textbooks, treatises, and journals — comparable to CAP as a scholarly legal publisher but operating globally and across many disciplines.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Carolina Academic Press