Page 178 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (k)
P. 178
Although new ways of pricing legal services are important, better integration and
collaboration between traditional law firms, ALSPs, and in-house legal teams in general is
essential to provide better customer solutions. Increasing collaboration throughout the external
legal supply chain is fundamental to providing customers with efficiencies in how they buy their
legal services. So how do we all play nicely together?
ALSPs and Traditional Law Firms
Flexible legal resourcing has provided a solution to a gap in the market, and traditional
firms are creating their own bespoke versions whilst others are partnering with ALSPs to offer this
service to clients. In addition, the ability to offer alumni an alternative pathway to working with
the traditional firm has arisen. It is becoming increasingly common for ALSPs to work with
traditional law firms’ own alumni to manage the firms’ resourcing challenges and assist in
managing costs and profitability.
How ALSPs work with traditional firms
The provision of flexible legal resourcing from ALSPs to traditional law firms generally
works on three levels:
1. Backfilling the law firms own teams to support with gaps in resource for longer-term team
absences or for spikes in workflow;
2. Provision of secondees to their clients in order to honour panel requirements in a more
cost-effective way or as a way of added value/customer service; and
3. Working with the firm’s alumni to offer a flexible resourcing career option for former team
members and an accessible pool of pre-vetted and known talent for the law firm.
Traditional law firms tend to have more similar structures than in-house teams; the
implementation of flexible legal resourcing can still vary. Here are a few examples of how it works
for law firms with different requirements.
Example 1: Magic Circle law firm, implemented own flexible resourcing
programme. Branded service managed by bespoke internal team.
Example 2: Leading global law firm with a multibillion-dollar revenue instructed
Law Company to provide flexible legal resourcing programme presenting as a joint
solution to clients demonstrating range of services and transparency.
Example 3: New entrant regional law firm, working with Law Company to provide
flexible work force as part of overall strategy of main law firm and to provide wider
range of services to end clients by providing legal operations and project managers
alongside generalist in-house and specialist private practice lawyers in curated
teams.
163
collaboration between traditional law firms, ALSPs, and in-house legal teams in general is
essential to provide better customer solutions. Increasing collaboration throughout the external
legal supply chain is fundamental to providing customers with efficiencies in how they buy their
legal services. So how do we all play nicely together?
ALSPs and Traditional Law Firms
Flexible legal resourcing has provided a solution to a gap in the market, and traditional
firms are creating their own bespoke versions whilst others are partnering with ALSPs to offer this
service to clients. In addition, the ability to offer alumni an alternative pathway to working with
the traditional firm has arisen. It is becoming increasingly common for ALSPs to work with
traditional law firms’ own alumni to manage the firms’ resourcing challenges and assist in
managing costs and profitability.
How ALSPs work with traditional firms
The provision of flexible legal resourcing from ALSPs to traditional law firms generally
works on three levels:
1. Backfilling the law firms own teams to support with gaps in resource for longer-term team
absences or for spikes in workflow;
2. Provision of secondees to their clients in order to honour panel requirements in a more
cost-effective way or as a way of added value/customer service; and
3. Working with the firm’s alumni to offer a flexible resourcing career option for former team
members and an accessible pool of pre-vetted and known talent for the law firm.
Traditional law firms tend to have more similar structures than in-house teams; the
implementation of flexible legal resourcing can still vary. Here are a few examples of how it works
for law firms with different requirements.
Example 1: Magic Circle law firm, implemented own flexible resourcing
programme. Branded service managed by bespoke internal team.
Example 2: Leading global law firm with a multibillion-dollar revenue instructed
Law Company to provide flexible legal resourcing programme presenting as a joint
solution to clients demonstrating range of services and transparency.
Example 3: New entrant regional law firm, working with Law Company to provide
flexible work force as part of overall strategy of main law firm and to provide wider
range of services to end clients by providing legal operations and project managers
alongside generalist in-house and specialist private practice lawyers in curated
teams.
163
