Legal process outsourcing can enable organizations to dedicate more in-house resources to meeting client needs. Third-party managed service providers, such as that by a fixed-fee law firm, can help companies to maintain appropriate or even obtain better legal coverage while helping to control expenses. Outsourcing legal operations can also enable organizations to dedicate more in-house resources to be trusted advisors for the business units they support.
Below, we’ll explore five ways companies can benefit from legal operations outsourcing.
What is the Difference Between Legal Process and Legal Operations Outsourcing?
Legal process outsourcing and legal operations outsourcing are two related yet different concepts. Where legal process outsourcing, often called “LPO,” refers to the practice of outsourcing specific legal processes, legal operations outsourcing refers to the outsourcing of certain operational functions within a law firm or legal department.
Examples of legal processes that can be outsourced include:
- Administrative and repetitive tasks
- Implementing technology and creating SOPs/playbooks around the technology
- Contract review, analysis, and negotiation
In-house legal departments that outsource legal operations can achieve harmony between legal departments and the rest of the organization — and free up legal teams to focus on the strategic work they enjoy. CLOC has identified 12 areas of functional legal operations that can enable operational excellence when applied to many environments.
- Information technology
- Financial management
- Strategy and benchmarking
- Business intelligence
- Information governance
- Knowledge management
- Practice operations
- Service delivery models
- Strategic planning
- Training and development
- Organization optimization and health
Both legal processes and operations outsourcing can be achieved through third-party managed legal services vendors. A high-quality fixed-fee concierge law firm can offer growth companies the experience and resources to support their specific legal operational and process needs.
5 Ways Growth Companies Benefit from Outsourcing Legal Operations
To achieve lofty revenue goals, growth companies need a combination of many things — including sound legal counsel. From a strong value proposition, access to capital, or a significant market opportunity to talented employees with scalable infrastructure and general agility and adaptability, there are many bases to cover.
Outsourcing legal operations can enable businesses to dedicate more in-house resources to positioning themselves for success and achieving growth targets. Five additional benefits to legal operations outsourcing include:
1. Outsourcing translates to cost savings
Outsourcing legal operations to a managed service provider can be more cost-effective than hiring additional in-house staff or attorneys, enabling legal departments to reduce overhead costs. Additionally, a legal process outsourcing provider, such as a fixed-fee law firm, can offer services on a project-by-project or as-needed basis.
2. Improving legal department efficiency
Outsourcing legal operations can help growth companies improve efficiency by automating workflows, reviewing processes within a legal department, as well as identifying opportunities for improving the process. By leveraging a fixed-fee law firm for legal operations, companies can take advantage of strategic partnerships for tasks such as executive strategy for new and growing in-house legal teams.
3. Scaling with your business
As growth companies expand, outsourcing legal operations can help maintain legal infrastructure without adding headcount or incurring additional overhead costs. This flexibility allows in-house legal departments to scale up or down as their workload changes and provides greater agility to adapt to changing business needs.
4. Accessing diverse expertise
Outsourcing legal operations to a high-quality managed legal service provider offers growth companies access to legal expertise that might not be available in-house. Whether navigating complex legal issues or staying current with the latest legal trends, a fixed-fee law firm can provide legal operations outsourcing backed by an entire team of experienced legal professionals — whereas hiring an internal position can only offer the knowledge of one individual.
5. Mitigating risky business
Growth companies can reduce the risk of legal and regulatory non-compliance by outsourcing legal operations. Third-party legal process outsourcing providers, such as a fixed-fee law firm, have specialized knowledge and deep experience in legal compliance, which is necessary when advising growth companies on avoiding costly legal disputes, such as missteps with complex commercial contracts.
Overall, outsourcing legal operations can provide growth companies with a range of benefits, including cost savings, improved efficiency, scalability, access to expertise, and risk mitigation. By leveraging the expertise of a high-quality fixed-fee law firm as your legal operations provider, growth companies can remain focused on revenue-generating activities and achieve growth objectives.
Why modCounsel gets Legal Operations Outsourcing Right
At modCounsel, we get legal operations outsourcing. Our team has deep experience working with companies and their complex legal needs and understands how critical the legal operations function is to your business. Our fixed-fee managed legal service model enables us to provide high-quality legal ops for companies that need flexibility and agility from their legal provider.
Achieve more with modCounsel
From technology partnerships to strategic legal leadership, modCousel, and our legal operations offerings, enable strategic impact, boost team effectiveness, and encourage the achievement of critical company goals.
References
Law.com: “Best Legal Departments: Lifting the Hood on GM’s Legal Operations.”
