Legal Outsourcing: Current Market Trends

Introduction

The stage is now set for a dramatic acceleration in legal outsourcing, due primarily to the increasing pressure for cost reduction and flexibility which is driving a significant shift from tactical project-based outsourcing offshore (Legal Process Outsourcing) towards wider and more strategic long-term sourcing relationships (Legal Service Outsourcing).

Scope

*Provides a detailed analysis of the legal outsourcing market structure, market dynamics and evolving legal outsourcing models for LPO and LSO.

*Based on structured interviews with senior partners across the Top 30 major law firms at the heart of the legal outsourcing market.

Highlights

Unlike many other in-house functions, the legal function has already outsourced the majority of its activity and spend some 80%. But this has so far been on a very conventional professional services model rather than an end-to-end outsourced basis.

The market pressures and new operating models being adopted by enterprise legal functions are having a dramatic influence on the environment for the major law firms who serve them. All major law firms are experiencing an unprecedented level of significant sustained pressure on fee rates and most have suffered a reduction in business volumes.

A number of clear brand leaders are now emerging and converging to offer a full spectrum of LPO services. The majority of new LPO business from both law firms and enterprise legal functions - is now tending to go to these emerging brand leaders and their relative position is therefore likely to strengthen.

Reasons to Purchase

*Includes estimates of the current and ultimate size of the LPO and LSO markets together with predicted market growth rates over the next two years.

*Analyses how enterprise legal functions, major law firms and offshore LPO providers are developing alternative delivery and commercial models.

*Provides detailed advice for enterprises and legal firms on the 'outsourceability' of various legal processes.


Report Highlights

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Overview 2
Catalyst 2
Summary 2
Methodology 2
Executive Summary 4
Legal outsourcing market set for a dramatic acceleration 4
Customer-driven quantification of market trends, sizes and growth 4
Table of Contents 6
Table of Figures 7
Table of Tables 8
Market Structure 9
The primary market players: enterprise legal functions, law firms and LPO providers 9
Enterprise legal functions 9
Major law firms 9
Offshore LPO providers 10
Three different models for legal outsourcing: conventional, LPO and now LSO 11
Activity flows with the legal outsourcing market 13
Market Drivers and Responses 16
Enterprise legal functions are under real business pressure for transformation 16
Major law firms are now starting to adopt new operating models in earnest 18
Offshore LPO providers are consolidating and extending their service offerings 20
Evolving Outsourcing Models 21
A major shift from tactical to strategic LPO 21
LPO is spreading steadily up the value levels 22
Understanding the linkage between value level and 'outsourceability' 23
The emerging legal services outsourcing model 26
Global Market Size And Growth Rates 28
Orbys' approach to assessment of market size and prediction of market growth rates 28
Conditions are right for exceptional market growth: the 'perfect storm' 28
Special factors for legal outsourcing may well hamper natural growth 29
Rapid growth is predicted for both LPO and LSO over the next two years 30
The LSO market will fuel additional growth in the LPO market 33
The LPO and LSO markets have significant further growth potential 34
Conclusions 36
Legal outsourcing state of the market 36
APPENDIX 38
LPO market size assessments and growth rate predictions 38
LSO market size assessments and growth rate predictions 41
Comparison of LPO and LSO market size assessments and growth rate predictions 42
Further reading 43
Ask the analyst 43
Orbys consulting 43
Disclaimer 43
List of Tables
Table 1: Major law firms surveyed for this report (UK/International) 10
Table 2: A selection of offshore LPO and BPO providers 11
Table 3: Proportion of global legal activity (by FTE) 40
Table 4: LPO market size estimates ($bn per annum) 40
Table 5: LPO versus LSO: proportion of global legal activity (by FTE) 42
Table 6: LPO versus LSO: market size ($bn per annum) 43
List of Figures
Figure 1: Comparison of LPO and LSO 13
Figure 2: Legal outsourcing market dynamics 14
Figure 3: Law firms progress with LPO and LSO strategy 18
Figure 4: Law firm adoption of LPO provider relationships and LPO captives 19
Figure 5: Primary LPO groupings by value level 22
Figure 6: LPO spreading steadily up the value triangle 23
Figure 7: Relative 'outsourceability' of LPO areas 24
Figure 8: LPO value versus 'outsourceability' 25
Figure 9: Predicted trends in LPO and LSO activity flows 31
Figure 10: Market size and growth in LPO and LSO market segments 32
Figure 11: Predicted two-year market growth for LPO and LSO 33
Figure 12: Predicted longer-term market growth 35

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