In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic before, law firms and corporate legal departments around the globe struggled to meet the new normal’s demands. Resource management, process optimisation issues, and budgeting have put pressure on entire corporations. In addition, organisational restructuring and transforming legislation have resulted in high legal spending. Other challenges include difficulties with remote work, cybersecurity concerns, process workflow optimisation, and adopting new technology.
The global legal process outsourcing market (LPO), predicted to reach US$30 billion by 2027, has surged due to this influence. Offshoring legal works and tasks through business process outsourcing (BPO) is becoming more popular among companies because it solves problems involving processes, technology and people. Therefore, a winning partnership with a BPO service provider that offers legal process outsourcing is often the answer to increasing skills and flexibility while lowering expenses.
Furthermore, a lawyer’s primary concentration should always be on the law, but many law companies are in-between staff, short-staffed or just wearing too many hats. This not only affects the bottom-line performance of the corporation but can lead to missed tasks and burnout. Law firms’ day-to-day processes involve many repetitive, mundane tasks that aren’t directly akin and correlated to the law, and some of these tasks may be best suited for outsourcing to a BPO vendor. Outsourcing can be cost-effective and frees a lot of time, not to mention its benefits for increasing the direct revenue for lawyers.
In this blog post, we will go over the pros and cons of legal services outsourcing. But before that, we will also tackle the important details related to outsourcing legal services. We hope you consider outsourcing to a BPO company by the end of your read.
Let’s get started!
What is Legal Process / Services Outsourcing?
Legal services or process outsourcing is when a law firm utilises an external service provider to perform various functions and tasks. A law firm can delegate any legal task or activity that does not require personal contact or presence. Practising law involves loads of functions that compete for your attention, and outsourcing is the best way to avoid being overworked!
Why is the legal services industry suited to offshoring?
- Even if the fast pace of evolution has established a somewhat unique set of circumstances, legal process outsourcing is not new as a concept. The legal industry has outsourced tasks like patent searches and document reviews for many years. The practice is culturally supported and accepted by peak professional corporations.
- Although technology isn’t the answer on its own, it can most definitely implement the execution of a wide array of strategies, including outsourcing. Most external legal service providers are already using document automation, secure communication infrastructure, and legal industry software that now make the physical location of in-house teams largely unnecessary.
- Successful outsourcing providers prioritise privacy and cybersecurity measures as part of their business model, reducing the risk of a data breach.
- You can perform countless hours of work at any time, not just during business hours (even though a good provider will render you access to staff who can work on your hours if you want).
What tasks can legal process outsourcing take over?
Legal process outsourcing can execute a wide array of jobs and tasks. This enables your law firm to save time on repetitive tasks that are unnecessary to perform in-house.
- Legal Research
- Legal Writing
- Document review
- E-Discovery
- Drafting Of Briefs
- Drafting Of Pleadings
- Discovery (Subpoenas, RFPs, RROGs, RFAs)
- Appearance Counsel & Per Diems
- Case Summaries
- Demand Letters
- Patent Services
- Deposition Summaries
- Corporate Documents
- Leases, Wills, & Trusts
- Billing & Financial Services
- Data Entry & Management
What are the common roles offshored in Legal Services outsourcing?
- Legal Secretary
- Legal Transcriptionist
- Legal Assistant
- Liaison Officer
- Paralegal
- Lawyer (Corporate, CPA, General Practitioner)
Pros of Legal Services Outsourcing
If you’re running a law firm, there’s a good chance you’ve considered outsourcing some of your work. After all, it’s a popular option for businesses in many industries. But what pros and common reasons make outsourcing attractive to law firms? Let’s take a look at them.
Cost Savings
When you outsource legal work, you can save your firm money on overhead costs such as office space, equipment, and employee salary and benefits. In addition, you can save on the cost of hiring and training additional in-house employees and often get discounts on rates when you use an outsourced provider.
Save Time
Outsourcing legal services will save you a lot of time as you won’t have to worry about managing the legal work yourself.
Focus on Core Competencies
Another reason why outsourcing is popular among law firms is because it allows them to focus on their core competencies. By outsourcing non-core functions such as legal research or document review, law firms can devote more time and resources to the areas of their business where they are most skilled. In addition, it enables more time to spend on high-profit legal tasks and frees up time for handling the firm, rainmaking, and cultivating the work/life balance. This can lead to improved client satisfaction and better overall results.
Flexibility
Outsourcing allows law firms to scale their operations up or down as needed without having to make long-term commitments. This can be helpful during busy times or when budget constraints require cost-cutting measures.
Connect with Expertise
When you outsource legal work, you can access a wider pool of talent than you would have access to if you were only hiring in-house staff. This enables your firm to find the best possible candidates for the job, regardless of location.
Have Access to the Latest Technology
Legal process outsourcing provides law firms access to the latest technology and research tools. Customers, in fact, take advantage of the newest technology without investing in their infrastructure.
Improved Efficiency
When done correctly, outsourcing can improve the efficiency of your firm’s operations. This is because you can concentrate on the most critical tasks of your business while leaving the less important tasks to someone else.
Maintaining Control of the Project
When you outsource legal work, you can establish the project’s scope, the time frame to determine when to complete it, and the budget based on your specific requirements.
Scalability
Outsourcing enables you to scale up quickly under the supervision of tested project managers adept at managing large-scale projects.
You Can Avoid Conflicts of Interest
When you outsource legal services, you can avoid conflicts of interest that may arise if you were to oversee the legal work yourself.
Lower Your Risk
By outsourcing legal tasks, you can transfer the risk of any legal issues to the outsourced law firm.
Take On More Clients
Because outsourcing legal services increases efficiency and saves time, your law firm will be able to take on more clients without anything slipping through the cracks. The external provider will implement tasks while concentrating on creating relationships with your clients and other core matters.
Obtain Compliance With the Law
With legal services outsourcing, you can ensure that your business is compliant with all relevant laws and regulations.
Get Objective Advice
When you outsource legal services, you can get objective advice from an external partner who is not invested in the outcome of your case.
Increased Profitability
Considering all of the above factors, it’s not surprising that outsourcing can lead to increased profitability for law firms. Moreover, when done correctly, outsourcing can help you save money and increase efficiency, contributing to increased profits.
Create a Work-Life Balance
A healthy work-life balance is challenging for legal professionals to attain. Legal work requires tremendous hours and attention that can negatively impact the quality of life. Outsourcing legal services enables these professionals to have an outstanding balance between work and life
Cons of Legal Services Outsourcing
There are a few potential drawbacks to outsourcing legal services that you should consider before deciding to do so. These include:
Lack of Control
When you outsource legal services, you are essentially handing over control of a crucial part of your business to another company. This can be risky, as you may have a different level of oversight or input into how they operate.
Dependence on Technology
Most outsourced legal services rely heavily on technology, which can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it can make communication and collaboration much more accessible. On the other hand, however, if there are technical issues or problems with the software, it can cause significant delays and disruptions.
Cost
Although outsourcing legal services can save you money in the long run, there is often an up-front cost associated with setting up the arrangement and training staff on how to use new systems and tools.
Here are some of the common mistakes to avoid with legal process outsourcing:
- A vague explanation of goals
- Insufficient research on providers
- Poor assessment of loyalty
- Selecting an outsourcing provider with inflexible work hour
- Disregarding the outsourcing provider’s financial condition
- Absence of exit strategy and limited liability clause
- Lack of communication
- Not involving the internal team in outsourcing decisions
- Only considering cost-effectiveness
How to Leverage Legal Process Outsourcing
Here are some imperative steps that you can take to ensure that you make the most of legal process outsourcing solutions
Examine Your Firm’s Needs
The first and most crucial step for using legal outsourcing is assessing and examining your law firm’s needs. By identifying your needs, you can find the perfect service provider.
Likewise, there are a lot of options when it comes to outsourcing legal services. However, not all of them will be handy and effective for your firm. An excellent way to begin is to ask yourself these questions:
- What activities take up plenty of employees’ time, but you don’t necessarily need to complete onshore?
- Does the staff need to be physically in your office space?
- Do you need a person to go to court?
- Is remote working acceptable?
Decide On Which Functions and Tasks to Delegate
Offshoring is all about delegation. It would help if you set time to make careful decisions on which tasks can and should you contract out to a third-party service provider. For instance, you can ask which tasks are not cost-efficient, which are taking up valuable time, and which tasks you don’t need to finish in-house.
Tap on Potential Providers
Once you know what legal services an outsourcing company must complete for you, you can evaluate potential providers. Make sure that you look for an external team that will do well to accomplish the goals and objectives of your firm.
Monitor and Measure Progress
Legal process outsourcing aims to help your law firm expand its capabilities and enhance efficiency. Therefore, you should monitor and measure how well your BPO legal process provider meets your expectations and needs. This ensures you are not wasting any time or money on legal process outsourcing services.
Give Feedback
Constant communication and feedback are paramount for a successful partnership with your remote legal service provider. Therefore, one of the primary aspects of utilising legal process outsourcing successfully is giving feedback on all services rendered.
Conclusion
In the evolving legal landscape, firms must differentiate themselves and enhance the customer experience without increasing overhead or overloading employees. Legal process outsourcing (LPO) is an excellent and popular solution to improve productivity and efficiency. It allows lawyers and team members to concentrate on their best tasks and gain a competitive advantage. More outsourcing options are available now than ever before. Law firms can choose from the selection of a lot of third-party providers specialising in the legal industry in which their services can be a big help for legal processes to be simplified and automated. However, consider assessing whether your firm is suited for outsourcing by weighing its pros and cons before going for it.
At The Lead Enquiry, our BPO service provider partners promptly render a myriad of legal support services, quality of work, and cost-efficient solutions. Contact us today to discover how you can benefit by outsourcing your legal work for your law firm business!
