Page 86 - Leaders in Legal Business - PDF - Final 2018
P. 86
Now, the legal market is regaining strength as it continues to expand into new and emerging
markets worldwide.11
While global growth is on the uptick, BigLaw has been and will continue to give up
market share to new entrants to the legal services market. Firms such as Axiom, Laterally,
Thomson Reuters’ Legal Managed Services, and MLA’s own highly specialized, temporary legal
staffing solutions provider, the Solutions Practice Group (SPG), are capturing increased market
share and will continue to have a major influence on how legal work will be performed and
disaggregated. Major consulting firms are also reentering the legal market and looking to capture
some of this revenue.
“Since the recession, businesses across the country have been pushing their employees to
do more with less,” explains Inside Counsel’s Ashley Post, regarding why temporary staffing has
become crucial for companies, in Strategies for Leaner Legal Departments: Part 1. She adds,
“Members of corporate legal departments have encountered the same challenge. Facing
heightened performance expectations and heavier workloads, in-house lawyers and their staffs
have had to alter their workplaces to conform to leaner budgets — all while maintaining
productivity and excellence.”12
Law firms are still learning how to effectively use the temporary staffing model, as
described by Law360 reporter Erin Coe in 5 Mistakes Law Firms Make with Temp Lawyers:
Firms are increasingly relying on temporary attorneys to scale up legal teams on
large matters while controlling costs for clients, but experts say they could take
more initiative in offering these lawyers as a staffing option when pitching for
business and could improve how they integrate them into the legal team.13
Coe includes perspective from MLA partner and global head of MLA’s In-House and
Solutions Practice Groups, Gregory Richter, who said: “Big firms have to be mindful that
disaggregating workloads is something clients will demand of them. Clients want different price
points for different levels of work and different people delivering that work. Firms have to think
outside the box and do things differently in this new-normal environment we are in.”14
MLA launched its Solutions Practice Group with the goal of finding ways for law firm
and corporate leaders to meet evolving needs with appropriate staffing and up-to-date solutions.
The methodology and service makes it easier to find highly-qualified lawyers and legal
professionals for substantive assignments on a cost-effective, contractual basis. A partnership
with the SPG and others in this space provides corporate and law firm clients with the ability to
maintain quality of work while enabling it to better manage staffing needs thus increasing
efficiency and profitability. Staffing arrangements in this area include long-term, on-site
temporary placements; flexible work arrangements; and project staffing for peak periods or
interim needs.
Whether the position is at a law firm or in-house at a company, legal recruiters and
staffers guide firms and companies to choose the ideal candidate for future business success. The
11 See, e.g., Jeffrey A. Lowe, BigLaw 2017: A Look Ahead, MAJOR, LINDSEY & AFRICA (Jan.13, 2017),
https://www.mlaglobal.com/publications/articles/biglaw-2017-a-look-ahead.
12 Ashley Post, Strategies for Leaner Legal Departments, Part 1, INSIDE COUNSEL (Feb. 26, 2013).
13 Erin Coe, 5 Mistakes Law Firms Make with Temp Lawyers, LAW360 (Aug. 22, 2014), http://www.mlaglobal.com/community/news/5-mistakes-
lawfirms-make-with-temp-lawyers.
14 Id.
72
markets worldwide.11
While global growth is on the uptick, BigLaw has been and will continue to give up
market share to new entrants to the legal services market. Firms such as Axiom, Laterally,
Thomson Reuters’ Legal Managed Services, and MLA’s own highly specialized, temporary legal
staffing solutions provider, the Solutions Practice Group (SPG), are capturing increased market
share and will continue to have a major influence on how legal work will be performed and
disaggregated. Major consulting firms are also reentering the legal market and looking to capture
some of this revenue.
“Since the recession, businesses across the country have been pushing their employees to
do more with less,” explains Inside Counsel’s Ashley Post, regarding why temporary staffing has
become crucial for companies, in Strategies for Leaner Legal Departments: Part 1. She adds,
“Members of corporate legal departments have encountered the same challenge. Facing
heightened performance expectations and heavier workloads, in-house lawyers and their staffs
have had to alter their workplaces to conform to leaner budgets — all while maintaining
productivity and excellence.”12
Law firms are still learning how to effectively use the temporary staffing model, as
described by Law360 reporter Erin Coe in 5 Mistakes Law Firms Make with Temp Lawyers:
Firms are increasingly relying on temporary attorneys to scale up legal teams on
large matters while controlling costs for clients, but experts say they could take
more initiative in offering these lawyers as a staffing option when pitching for
business and could improve how they integrate them into the legal team.13
Coe includes perspective from MLA partner and global head of MLA’s In-House and
Solutions Practice Groups, Gregory Richter, who said: “Big firms have to be mindful that
disaggregating workloads is something clients will demand of them. Clients want different price
points for different levels of work and different people delivering that work. Firms have to think
outside the box and do things differently in this new-normal environment we are in.”14
MLA launched its Solutions Practice Group with the goal of finding ways for law firm
and corporate leaders to meet evolving needs with appropriate staffing and up-to-date solutions.
The methodology and service makes it easier to find highly-qualified lawyers and legal
professionals for substantive assignments on a cost-effective, contractual basis. A partnership
with the SPG and others in this space provides corporate and law firm clients with the ability to
maintain quality of work while enabling it to better manage staffing needs thus increasing
efficiency and profitability. Staffing arrangements in this area include long-term, on-site
temporary placements; flexible work arrangements; and project staffing for peak periods or
interim needs.
Whether the position is at a law firm or in-house at a company, legal recruiters and
staffers guide firms and companies to choose the ideal candidate for future business success. The
11 See, e.g., Jeffrey A. Lowe, BigLaw 2017: A Look Ahead, MAJOR, LINDSEY & AFRICA (Jan.13, 2017),
https://www.mlaglobal.com/publications/articles/biglaw-2017-a-look-ahead.
12 Ashley Post, Strategies for Leaner Legal Departments, Part 1, INSIDE COUNSEL (Feb. 26, 2013).
13 Erin Coe, 5 Mistakes Law Firms Make with Temp Lawyers, LAW360 (Aug. 22, 2014), http://www.mlaglobal.com/community/news/5-mistakes-
lawfirms-make-with-temp-lawyers.
14 Id.
72
