Offshore Today

Legal Process Outsourcing (#LPO): #offshore value for the #legal community.

Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) have typically been associated with medium or large law firms. In this setting, LPO allows for quick ramp up of resources for filings, research, contract writing and other non-decision making labor. However, as discussed in a Prism Legal article; "Legal Outsourcing Tipping Point", corporations are leveraging LPO for their in-house legal requirements. And for more advanced legal services as well.

The article discussing Rio Tinto's (mining and ore processing company) use of LPO to reduced legal costs by over 20%. Further, this program by Rio Tinto, which is bringing on up to 24 Indian Lawyers, is more than just a low end legal labor and resourcing.

"People often assume that outsourcing and the options are applicable only to high-volume, low-value legal work. The Rio Tinto deal confirms this is wrong.” (Prism Legal Article).

LPO is a fast rising services sector for offshore outsourcing, with high growth rates expected in the coming years. Prism Legal maintains a list of LPO service providers.

Contact us today if your firm is considering LPO or other business outsourcing. We have relationships with top reputable service providers and can help you to select and manage same - with no fee paid for this service by the client!

#Offshore Spotlight: #Legal Process #Outsourcing (#LPO)

The legal industry is under extreme pressure to make themselves more efficient, so says Gururaj Potnis, director, Manthan Legal; an offshore LPO (from an Above The Law Blog article: Outsourcing: What Indian Firms Have Planned for the Future of Biglaw).

LPO, or Legal Process Outsourcing, offers similar advantages to other forms of outsourcing. By allowing a company, in this case a law firm, to focus on their core-skills, they can move routine and labor intensive activities offshore for cost savings. Or better said, for increased efficiency and higher margins.

Potnis continues by stating they do not handle legal opinion, and often handle the work of more junior level lawyers - with subsequent handling by the Legal firms senior partner:

Consider a single plaintiff case, like a title VII case. The process is pretty well defined. You review documents, analyze depositions, produce a statement of facts, a memorandum of law ... 80% of that work is junior associate level work. Then, once you have a a first draft, that's when you bring in a senior partner for their expertise.

And LPO is not just for large firms, as 80% of Mathan' clients are less than 100 employees. For smaller firms, LPO may enhance their ability to compete for larger projects usually handed to their larger brethren.

It's all about increasing your competitiveness and saving money - by being efficient and nimble.