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Leaders in Legal Business
Chapter 7 – New Law = Alternative Models Mark Ross1
Integreon
Global Head -LPO
Legal Process Outsourcing and Technology-Enabled Legal Services Friend or Foe to Biglaw?
Even before the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, in-house legal departments and their outside
counsel were under considerable pressure to do more with less. The Great Recession exacerbated this pressure
and led to a surge in the exploration of innovative legal services delivery models. Two key questions came to the
fore for the in-house legal department: 1) Can we reduce or eliminate the requirement of undertaking certain legal
services? 2) For the services we must consume, how can we do so as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible?
Stemming from these questions, a new legal ecosystem emerged in which, alongside outside counsel and the
corporate legal department, Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) began to play a crucial role in the transformation,
reengineering, and cost-effective delivery of legal services.
While initially the focus of the LPO industry was on the labor arbitrage benefits available from
outsourcing certain routine legal tasks to lower-cost locations such as India, South Africa, and the Philippines, the
industry has matured and transformed itself over the last few years. Today LPO is best characterized as an
operating model combining a best-practices framework with process efficiency, quality control, consultative
expertise, and enabling technology at its core.
This article will initially examine how advances in
technology and the growth of LPO are closely aligned. It will
hopefully put to rest any mistaken assertion that LPO is
somehow threatened by technology because automation
reduces the human labor element of legal services. The article
will also address the journey law firms have navigated in their
exploration of the LPO phenomenon to date and what to expect
over the next three to five years. Whether law firms remain the
first port of call for corporate legal professionals, and the
conduit for the delivery of legal services is predicated on a
degree of acceptance of LPO within the law firms’ corridors of
power. In a profession that has historically embraced change
1 Mark Ross is an experienced solicitor, former partner at Underwoods, and now senior vice president of Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) at Integreon.
He heads Integreon’s global LPO business with accountability for the P&L, solution development, and delivery across the U.S., U.K., India, South Africa,
and the Philippines.
Mr. Ross’ involvement in LPO dates back to January 2004 when Underwoods became the first U.K. law firm to outsource legal work to a lower cost
common law jurisdiction. Chambers Guide refers to Underwoods as “a pioneer of legal offshoring.”
He is a preeminent authority and thought leader in the field of LPO. He is also a recognized expert on the Ethics of LPO, and has written numerous articles
and White Papers dealing with the subject. He developed the first State Bar MCLE Ethics and CPD accredited courses on the ethical implications of
outsourcing legal work.
Mr. Ross’ experience in the LPO field is such that he is only person to have been invited to address the ABA, the Law Societies of England & Wales and
South Africa, Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the International Bar Association on the topic. The Legal Services Board of Victoria, Australia also
consulted him in 2012 in connection with the development of their legal outsourcing guidelines.
He has been interviewed by numerous mainstream and legal publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, the
U.K.’s Law Society Gazette, and the ABA’s Law Practice Management. He has also been invited to speak as a leading authority on legal outsourcing by
prestigious organizations including: the Financial Times, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, Northwestern University, Stanford Center on the Legal Profession,
the International Legal Ethics conference, and Practising Law Institute.
Mr. Ross is the former chair of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ Legal Process Outsourcing Chapter, on the editorial board of
Outsource Magazine, and on the advisory board of Suffolk Law School’s Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation.
131
Chapter 7 – New Law = Alternative Models Mark Ross1
Integreon
Global Head -LPO
Legal Process Outsourcing and Technology-Enabled Legal Services Friend or Foe to Biglaw?
Even before the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, in-house legal departments and their outside
counsel were under considerable pressure to do more with less. The Great Recession exacerbated this pressure
and led to a surge in the exploration of innovative legal services delivery models. Two key questions came to the
fore for the in-house legal department: 1) Can we reduce or eliminate the requirement of undertaking certain legal
services? 2) For the services we must consume, how can we do so as efficiently and as cost-effectively as possible?
Stemming from these questions, a new legal ecosystem emerged in which, alongside outside counsel and the
corporate legal department, Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) began to play a crucial role in the transformation,
reengineering, and cost-effective delivery of legal services.
While initially the focus of the LPO industry was on the labor arbitrage benefits available from
outsourcing certain routine legal tasks to lower-cost locations such as India, South Africa, and the Philippines, the
industry has matured and transformed itself over the last few years. Today LPO is best characterized as an
operating model combining a best-practices framework with process efficiency, quality control, consultative
expertise, and enabling technology at its core.
This article will initially examine how advances in
technology and the growth of LPO are closely aligned. It will
hopefully put to rest any mistaken assertion that LPO is
somehow threatened by technology because automation
reduces the human labor element of legal services. The article
will also address the journey law firms have navigated in their
exploration of the LPO phenomenon to date and what to expect
over the next three to five years. Whether law firms remain the
first port of call for corporate legal professionals, and the
conduit for the delivery of legal services is predicated on a
degree of acceptance of LPO within the law firms’ corridors of
power. In a profession that has historically embraced change
1 Mark Ross is an experienced solicitor, former partner at Underwoods, and now senior vice president of Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) at Integreon.
He heads Integreon’s global LPO business with accountability for the P&L, solution development, and delivery across the U.S., U.K., India, South Africa,
and the Philippines.
Mr. Ross’ involvement in LPO dates back to January 2004 when Underwoods became the first U.K. law firm to outsource legal work to a lower cost
common law jurisdiction. Chambers Guide refers to Underwoods as “a pioneer of legal offshoring.”
He is a preeminent authority and thought leader in the field of LPO. He is also a recognized expert on the Ethics of LPO, and has written numerous articles
and White Papers dealing with the subject. He developed the first State Bar MCLE Ethics and CPD accredited courses on the ethical implications of
outsourcing legal work.
Mr. Ross’ experience in the LPO field is such that he is only person to have been invited to address the ABA, the Law Societies of England & Wales and
South Africa, Solicitors Regulation Authority, and the International Bar Association on the topic. The Legal Services Board of Victoria, Australia also
consulted him in 2012 in connection with the development of their legal outsourcing guidelines.
He has been interviewed by numerous mainstream and legal publications, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, TIME magazine, the
U.K.’s Law Society Gazette, and the ABA’s Law Practice Management. He has also been invited to speak as a leading authority on legal outsourcing by
prestigious organizations including: the Financial Times, U.C. Berkeley School of Law, Northwestern University, Stanford Center on the Legal Profession,
the International Legal Ethics conference, and Practising Law Institute.
Mr. Ross is the former chair of the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals’ Legal Process Outsourcing Chapter, on the editorial board of
Outsource Magazine, and on the advisory board of Suffolk Law School’s Institute on Law Practice Technology & Innovation.
131
