Slaughters in talks over outsourcing plans
Move hailed as ‘watershed moment’ as LPO trend spreads to City elite
Slaughter and May is eyeing a radical move into legal process outsourcing (LPO), as the UK’s top firms face mounting pressure from clients to embrace alternative models.
Slaughters is in talks with an LPO agency about the prospect of outsourcing low-level legal work, including document review and due diligence. It is understood the move was triggered by a request from a single client.
A growing number of firms are being asked by clients to consider whether certain types of work can be done more cheaply overseas.
The arrival on the scene of ultra-conservative Slaughter and May will surprise many in the LPO market.
Osborne Clarke managing partner Simon Beswick said: “Slaughter and May’s decision to outsource legal work is a watershed moment for the UK legal industry.
“It confirms our belief that the legal market is changing rapidly and demonstrates to clients that market-leading firms are listening to their needs and that they’re willing to innovate.”
It is understood that Slaughters’ plan is at an early stage and relates mainly to data room services.
When contacted by The Lawyer, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and DLA Piper all confirmed they were weighing up outsourcing options, although DLA Piper stressed it was only considering non-legal schemes.
The practice of sending business support functions offshore is widespread, but outsourcing the work of lawyers is a relatively new phenomenon.
A number of LPO specialists have sprung up to meet demand, including Exigent, Integreon and Office Tiger.
Clifford Chance has its own offshore centre in India, which carries out tasks previously handled by UK trainees and paralegals.
Last week it emerged the firm passed 12,000 hours of work to the service centre last year on more than 300 client projects.
Simmons & Simmons is understood to be close to signing a deal with an agency giving the firm access to permanent staff in an offshore unit, after revealing in April that outsourcing was a key component of its new three-year plan.
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Readers' comments (14)
Anonymous | 7-Oct-2009 8:06 am
This is a big step up for Legal process outsourcing companies. At the same time data security should be given prime focus here, as Uk legal system is very stringent about it and the firms have been reluctant to outsource legal work even when the LPO industry was at its peak for this very same reason reason.
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Anonymous | 9-Oct-2009 2:07 am
Uh oh. I used to work for a firm that outsources their dictation to India. It may have saved the firm money but for the fee earners meant long non-billable hours spent correcting basic spelling and grammar errors on returned documents. It'll end in tears (or should I say, "it,l ending tiers")...
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Andrew | 14-Oct-2009 4:30 am
Re: "how do you ensure quality of production when you outsource a job?"
Answer: 1. document the process; 2. ensure it's consistent and replicable; and 3. automate it.
High priced lawyers shouldn't be doing standard process work. They should be providing advice on complex issues.
Andrew Davis
www.exari.com
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Fred Krebs | 15-Oct-2009 10:14 am
The law firm business model must change. Firms that fail to adapt will have great difficulty. Clients want value--firm goal should be effectiveness, efficiency and client satisfaction. High cost for low value work not the way to achieve that goal.
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