Over the last 6 months we’ve noticed that South African companies have been pushing out the LPO boat and indicating that India may now have a serious competitor in the market..
South Africa’s Business Standard reports
India?s place as the leading location for legal process outsourcing (LPO) could face intense competition from emerging nations like South Africa and Philippines during 2010, according to a research report from LPO consultancy firm Fronterion.
The report states that India is presently the leading geography for legal outsourcing with over 85 per cent of offshore legal outsourcing vendors are primarily or exclusively located in India. According to the report, South Africa will emerge as the strongest LPO destination for 2010, particularly with UK clients. ?The emergence of South Africa as a preferred destination with UK clients will be driven by its concurrent time zone, strong cultural affinity and a maturing vendor landscape,? states the report, which also mentions the growth of legal outsourcing in the Philippines.
This aspect is a part of Fronterion?s report ?Ten for 2010?, predicting the top 10 trends in the LPO market in the coming year. The report predicts that 2010 will see an increased focus on transparency, leading to ?more efficient markets and heightened credibility of legal outsourcing initiatives for both buyers and vendors?. The report also expects more detailed guidelines from the American Bar Association and other legal bodies on the ethics of legal outsourcing.
The report states that there may be an increase in the talent pool within LPOs as legal outsourcing becomes an attractive alternative career path for legal professionals with an entrepreneurial bent. However, the report warns that the dynamic vendor landscape might not be entirely friendly to mid-size, less established LPOs, who might be forced to choose between consolidation and specialisation. The report also forsees an aggressive ramping up of operations by mainstream BPOs wanting to break into the LPO segment.
Full report at? http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/south-africa-is-new-kidlpo-block-report/380404/
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What Fronterion?s Legal Outsourcing Trends Report Means for Independent, U.S.-Based Contract Lawyers and Hiring Firms
Fronterion, an international management consultancy that focuses exclusively on advising law firms and corporations on outsourced legal services, recently released a report called Ten for 2010: Top Ten Trends for Legal Outsourcing in 2010. While the report is aimed at convincing large American and UK firms and corporations to outsource to offshore LPO providers, it contains valuable nuggets for both independent, U.S.-based contract lawyers and the solos and small firms that hire them.
Two of the trends Fronterion identified are particularly significant for independent, U.S.-based contract lawyers. The first (which the ABA Journal focused on in an article last Friday), is the prediction that,
[a]s legal outsourcing vendors gain prominence in 2010, they will have much greater access to talent as more lawyers consider outsourcing as a genuine career path.
Client confidence in the outsourcing legal services market is translating into a rising talent pool, both on and offshore. Positions at outsourcing vendors will increasingly become an attractive alternative career path for entrepreneurial and global-minded legal professionals as pay, positions and prestige increase.
And finally have a look at the Fronterion Report (pdf)? at http://www.fronterion.com/FronterionTenFor2010.pdf
