Legal Outsourcing Conference Season in Full Swing
With the legal conference season clearly in full swing if ever a legal topic could be referred to as being "in vogue" then legal process outsourcing would be it.
Funnily enough it wasn't until the Jan 2007 LegalTech convention that the subject of legal outsourcing even appeared on a main stream conference agenda. ALM's May 2007 Legal Outsourcing Forum for Work Product and Support Service (what a mouthful!) witnessed the first ever legal conference dedicated solely to the issue.
Well in 2008 you can really rack up the air miles on the LPO circuit. All the major conference organizers are lining up legal outsourcing events, awash with esteemed panels featuring highly recognizable figures from major law firms, corporations and leading legal process outsourcing companies. I don't wish to disparage any of the conference organizers or cast aspersions on the merit of attending such events as clearly the industry is still in its early formative years where education of the legal profession on the subject matter is of the utmost importance. I just wonder how long these conferences will continue in their current format. Inevitably without panelists from different LPOs liaising with each other as to the content of their particular "slot" one is left with a certain amount of duplication and repetition. Having said all of that two that particularly caught my eye and that I’ll be attending or speaking at are detailed below.
On April 25th, The Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, a new research center at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law is hosting a conference entitled International Outsourcing of the Legal Profession. Speakers include LawScribe’s President and CEO, Kunoor Chopra, Connie Brenton, Assistant General Counsel from Sun Microsystems together with representatives from Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, and many others. Andrew Guzman, Professor of Law, Boalt Hall will open the conference with an overview of trends in legal outsourcing. The morning panel will focus on why some companies are outsourcing and some have stopped or have chosen not to outsource. The afternoon discussion will focus on corporate experiences with outsourcing patent drafting and patent searches. The final panel will analyze the economic implications of outsourcing highly-skilled projects, both for the U.S. economy and the legal profession overall.
I’m personally intrigued by the final panel session of the day. For a long time now I’ve been extremely interested in how legal outsourcing will impact the legal professions and the wider economies in India, the U.S. and the U.K. My own view is that the traditional law firm operating hierarchical structure is both outdated and awash with inefficiencies. In today’s fast moving, liquid, global economy, size is no guarantee of longevity. Even the largest law firms over time will struggle if they fail to adapt and modify their operational structures. Remember that over half of the Fortune 500 from 1980 no longer even exist as independent entities any more.
I’m looking forward to a trip back to the U.K. very soon. I’ve been invited to speak on the LPO panel at The Financial Times Global Outsourcing and Offshoring Conference ’Raising the Bar - Next Generation Outsourcing’ being held at the Landmark Hotel in London on May 12-13. The FT conference will explore emerging issues on the industry horizon from the frontline perspective of the global services managers, service providers and leading city analysts. Also appearing on the LPO panel will be Chris Bull, Chief Operating Officer from the internationally renowned law firm Osborne Clarke. For more information click here
Funnily enough it wasn't until the Jan 2007 LegalTech convention that the subject of legal outsourcing even appeared on a main stream conference agenda. ALM's May 2007 Legal Outsourcing Forum for Work Product and Support Service (what a mouthful!) witnessed the first ever legal conference dedicated solely to the issue.
Well in 2008 you can really rack up the air miles on the LPO circuit. All the major conference organizers are lining up legal outsourcing events, awash with esteemed panels featuring highly recognizable figures from major law firms, corporations and leading legal process outsourcing companies. I don't wish to disparage any of the conference organizers or cast aspersions on the merit of attending such events as clearly the industry is still in its early formative years where education of the legal profession on the subject matter is of the utmost importance. I just wonder how long these conferences will continue in their current format. Inevitably without panelists from different LPOs liaising with each other as to the content of their particular "slot" one is left with a certain amount of duplication and repetition. Having said all of that two that particularly caught my eye and that I’ll be attending or speaking at are detailed below.
On April 25th, The Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, a new research center at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law is hosting a conference entitled International Outsourcing of the Legal Profession. Speakers include LawScribe’s President and CEO, Kunoor Chopra, Connie Brenton, Assistant General Counsel from Sun Microsystems together with representatives from Microsoft Corporation, Cisco Systems, and many others. Andrew Guzman, Professor of Law, Boalt Hall will open the conference with an overview of trends in legal outsourcing. The morning panel will focus on why some companies are outsourcing and some have stopped or have chosen not to outsource. The afternoon discussion will focus on corporate experiences with outsourcing patent drafting and patent searches. The final panel will analyze the economic implications of outsourcing highly-skilled projects, both for the U.S. economy and the legal profession overall.
I’m personally intrigued by the final panel session of the day. For a long time now I’ve been extremely interested in how legal outsourcing will impact the legal professions and the wider economies in India, the U.S. and the U.K. My own view is that the traditional law firm operating hierarchical structure is both outdated and awash with inefficiencies. In today’s fast moving, liquid, global economy, size is no guarantee of longevity. Even the largest law firms over time will struggle if they fail to adapt and modify their operational structures. Remember that over half of the Fortune 500 from 1980 no longer even exist as independent entities any more.
I’m looking forward to a trip back to the U.K. very soon. I’ve been invited to speak on the LPO panel at The Financial Times Global Outsourcing and Offshoring Conference ’Raising the Bar - Next Generation Outsourcing’ being held at the Landmark Hotel in London on May 12-13. The FT conference will explore emerging issues on the industry horizon from the frontline perspective of the global services managers, service providers and leading city analysts. Also appearing on the LPO panel will be Chris Bull, Chief Operating Officer from the internationally renowned law firm Osborne Clarke. For more information click here
posted by Mark Ross at
5:06 PM
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1 Comments:
The incontrovertible fact is that the LPO Industry is still in the state of infancy, however, it has caught the /fancy/ of large firms and corporations, who see legal outsourcing as an effective way of reducing costs, boosting produce and specialization.
Attorneys / firms and corporations would be sure to attend or send their representatives, unless they choose not to evolve and lose a critical competitive edge.
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