Benjamin Moore & Co.’s decision to lay off its in-house lawyers and outsource the entire legal department as part of a purported cost-cutting effort could end up exposing the company to significant expense and risk. 

“The thought that all legal services could be farmed off to an external firm on a permanent basis is a fool’s errand. External lawyers are not less expensive than an experienced in-house team,” said Randall Lewis, general counsel of EHC Global Inc. in Chicago.