Page 246 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (n)
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The market has taken notice: measured in investment, venture capital is flowing into legal
startups at an accelerating pace ($458 million in 2013, up from $66 million in 2012).3
Bottom line, the “practice of law” is being deconstructed, redefined, and opened to new
players. Specifically, the forces creating this transformation are: (1) market pressure from upstart
entrepreneurs and alternative service providers; (2) value and expertise imported from models of
process and business efficiency; and (3) structural changes challenging the traditional boundaries
of legal practice. How big are these changes? Here are some examples.
Our company (a formerly wholly-owned subsidiary of Thomson Reuters and now
a part of EY (2019), employs approximately 1,500 full-time attorneys (largely in
India), conducting large scale legal support projects for many of the Fortune 100
and AmLaw 100 firms. We believe we are the largest private employer of attorneys
in a country of 1.2 billion people.
According to Legal Business magazine, a U.K.-based trade publication, one of the
top 10 “overall advisors” in the U.K. market is Axiom, a legal services company
that is not a law firm.4 kCura, the developers of e-discovery software Relativity,
received $125 million from San Francisco-based ICONIQ Capital to invest in
people and technology.5
While we are fascinated by the disruptive changes brought by technology and
globalization, we have focused the remainder of the article on legal managed services (“LMS”)
companies. These companies are corporations (not partnerships or law firms) conducting large-
scale legal-support services, traditionally performed by law firms or corporate counsel. LMS
companies are not staffing agencies that add temporary body count to law firms or corporate legal
departments. They are stand-alone businesses whose clients are law firms and corporate legal
departments. Over the past decade they have proven their ability to be better, faster, and cheaper
than the traditional legal players in a wide variety of legal-support tasks (contract lifecycle
management, litigation document review, M&A diligence). They have achieved this by
implementing: best-in-class business processes; high-end, permanent talent in lower-cost
jurisdictions; permanent task specialization and training; and dedicated technologists and cutting-
edge technology.
Over the following chapter, we will discuss: the rise of legal managed services companies;
the workflows, processes, and technology they employ; and the future of the legal business
structure. Finally, we will touch on the benefits (yes, benefits) to law firms (even boring Biglaw
firms) and what this radical change all means.
The Rise of Legal Managed Services
Axiom is based in the U.K. and works closely for clients in commercial transactions, M&A,
litigation, and other areas. Axiom’s lawyers are highly trained and carry top credentials. But
Axiom is not a law firm. It is a corporation that places its attorneys through insourced and
3 Susanna Ray, These Venture Capitalists Skip Law Firms for Legal Services Startups, ABA J. (May 1, 2014, 10:30 AM),
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/these_venture_capitalists_skip_law_firms_for_legal_services_startups.
4 Joe Borstein, Alt.Legal: Apparently ‘Legal Provider’ is Not How the British Say ‘Law Firm,’ ABOVE THE LAW (Oct. 24, 2014, 2:34 PM),
http://abovethelaw.com/2014/10/alt-legal-apparently-legal-provider-is-not-how-the-british-say-law-firm/.
5 Amina Elahi, kCura Gets $125 Million Investment from Iconiq Capital, CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Feb. 3, 2015, 1:00 PM),
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/chi-kcura-iconiq-capital-funding-bsi-20150203-story.html.
231
startups at an accelerating pace ($458 million in 2013, up from $66 million in 2012).3
Bottom line, the “practice of law” is being deconstructed, redefined, and opened to new
players. Specifically, the forces creating this transformation are: (1) market pressure from upstart
entrepreneurs and alternative service providers; (2) value and expertise imported from models of
process and business efficiency; and (3) structural changes challenging the traditional boundaries
of legal practice. How big are these changes? Here are some examples.
Our company (a formerly wholly-owned subsidiary of Thomson Reuters and now
a part of EY (2019), employs approximately 1,500 full-time attorneys (largely in
India), conducting large scale legal support projects for many of the Fortune 100
and AmLaw 100 firms. We believe we are the largest private employer of attorneys
in a country of 1.2 billion people.
According to Legal Business magazine, a U.K.-based trade publication, one of the
top 10 “overall advisors” in the U.K. market is Axiom, a legal services company
that is not a law firm.4 kCura, the developers of e-discovery software Relativity,
received $125 million from San Francisco-based ICONIQ Capital to invest in
people and technology.5
While we are fascinated by the disruptive changes brought by technology and
globalization, we have focused the remainder of the article on legal managed services (“LMS”)
companies. These companies are corporations (not partnerships or law firms) conducting large-
scale legal-support services, traditionally performed by law firms or corporate counsel. LMS
companies are not staffing agencies that add temporary body count to law firms or corporate legal
departments. They are stand-alone businesses whose clients are law firms and corporate legal
departments. Over the past decade they have proven their ability to be better, faster, and cheaper
than the traditional legal players in a wide variety of legal-support tasks (contract lifecycle
management, litigation document review, M&A diligence). They have achieved this by
implementing: best-in-class business processes; high-end, permanent talent in lower-cost
jurisdictions; permanent task specialization and training; and dedicated technologists and cutting-
edge technology.
Over the following chapter, we will discuss: the rise of legal managed services companies;
the workflows, processes, and technology they employ; and the future of the legal business
structure. Finally, we will touch on the benefits (yes, benefits) to law firms (even boring Biglaw
firms) and what this radical change all means.
The Rise of Legal Managed Services
Axiom is based in the U.K. and works closely for clients in commercial transactions, M&A,
litigation, and other areas. Axiom’s lawyers are highly trained and carry top credentials. But
Axiom is not a law firm. It is a corporation that places its attorneys through insourced and
3 Susanna Ray, These Venture Capitalists Skip Law Firms for Legal Services Startups, ABA J. (May 1, 2014, 10:30 AM),
http://www.abajournal.com/magazine/article/these_venture_capitalists_skip_law_firms_for_legal_services_startups.
4 Joe Borstein, Alt.Legal: Apparently ‘Legal Provider’ is Not How the British Say ‘Law Firm,’ ABOVE THE LAW (Oct. 24, 2014, 2:34 PM),
http://abovethelaw.com/2014/10/alt-legal-apparently-legal-provider-is-not-how-the-british-say-law-firm/.
5 Amina Elahi, kCura Gets $125 Million Investment from Iconiq Capital, CHICAGO TRIBUNE (Feb. 3, 2015, 1:00 PM),
http://www.chicagotribune.com/bluesky/originals/chi-kcura-iconiq-capital-funding-bsi-20150203-story.html.
231
