Born as Legal Process Outsourcing, “LPOs” initially focused on wage arbitrage and they took on basic, repeatable processes that comprise large-scale legal services such as document review and standard contracting vehicles like NDAs. Ultimately, LPOs introduced the concept of process discipline to legal work. Then, steadily moving up the value chain, taking on higher-order legal work, LPOs became embedded in the legal services delivery model of both corporates and law firms. Today, they have matured into what are now called Alternative Legal Service Providers (“ALSPs”) that are indispensable partners in tackling large-scale, complex legal operations challenges.

These firms have proven their bona fides in the deployment of leading-edge technologies, implementation of efficient and effective processes, and expert management of risk and compliance. No longer just a cost savings strategy, ALSPs, in addition to lowering costs and improving processes, are helping corporates and law firms:

  • reduce risk,
  • improve legal operations,
  • impact business performance, and
  • drive new value through deft use of data analytics and business intelligence.

From the Transactional to the Programmatic