During the past few months, general counsel will no doubt have cast their minds back to the time of the downturn in the early 1990s, when a number of in-house departments were outsourced as an unnecessary cost to the business.
Most would argue that, this time around, things will be different – in-house departments are now recognised as adding value to the businesses they advise. In any event, the argument runs, law firms – particularly City firms – have priced themselves out of the market. But some say that ‘Mexican-Wave’, a new initiative launched by Lovells last year, could turn this confidence on its head.
