Narayan AmmachchiThe onshore legal process outsourcing (LPO) market is growing quickly, with law firms finding onshore service providers better equipped than their offshore counterparts, according to a new report from Transparency Market Research (TMR).
Law firms believe that their data is more secure in the hands of onshore service providers than offshore providers, the report found. Shared regulatory framework is also benefitting onshore service providers, says the analyst firm, adding that it expects the onshore LPO market to grow at a rate higher than the global average.
However, outsourcers able to combine offshore and onshore resources are even better positioned to deal with LPO contracts, TMR said. Most of the major LPO players have a physical presence in the U.S. and delivery centers in locations such as India and China, the report added.
The major legal areas that law firms cover are commercial laws, bankruptcy, banking laws, general corporate laws, civil rights and liberties, intellectual property laws, international business laws, criminal defense, financing/securities laws and tax laws.
The LPO market is set to grow rapidly in the years to come, as corporations are increasingly concerned about the rising costs of legal procedures. Favorable government policies and the growing awareness among general counsels about cost-saving are the key factors driving the growth of LPO, the research firm noted.
E-discovery was the most popular platform being deployed in LPO industry while litigation support, intellectual property (IP) support, contract drafting and review are among other major services being offered.
“Electronic documents contain a large amount of data and metadata and identifying and producing this information may often prove burdensome for in-house legal department. Outsourcing of this function helps reduce time consumption and proves to be cost-saving,” the report said.
The challenges to the growth of this market are concerns regarding security and confidentiality, quality and ethical implications. However, the marketplace has matured and many such concerns are being put to rest.
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