We learn from a report in the Business Mirror that Thomsons have made the leap into Asia with the annoucement of two new offices in the region that will concentrate on legal content….
Here’s the report in full
FINANCIAL data and news provider Thomson Reuters announced on Wednesday it will expand its legal content business in Asia by putting up offices in the Philippines and Hyderabad, India. “It’s an expansion; we’re not closing any of our existing centers in the United States,” content operations vice president Fred Gordon told the BusinessMirror. Gordon clarified that the New York City, New York-based firm will be “moving here a piece of process, some of our operations in the US.”
The company that merged last year after Canada-based Thomson bought Reuters has 14 centers in the US that provide content to lawyers and legal researchers. Gordon said they’re not closing any of these centers.
During the press briefing, however, Gordon said the company sees federal administration codes as increasing. Interest on legal cases involving health-care and welfare and the environment is also on the uptick, he added.
Gordon said the subprime crisis in the US also saw the increase in mortgage-related litigation cases. “Obviously we’re seeing a lot less in cases of mergers and acquisitions.”
Cheryl Giraulo, also of Thomson Reuters, said the move to Asia is the first time the company will foray out of the US. Giraulo, global legal content center vice president, said the professional division where legal support service belongs is the largest contributor to profit of Thomson Reuters.
Giraulo said the company started last month the operations of its center in India.
Tom Leighton, litigation content center vice president, said the Philippines office will perform analyzing, coding, proofreading and editing tasks.
“We don’t have the numbers at this point but we’re looking at people with legal background and quality review skills,” Leighton said when asked the qualifications of their target employees.
Giraulo said that while the company has no timetable, “our goal is ideally to have things established this year.” She added the “first wave” of employees will be flown to the US next year for training.
Philippine senior site officer Raoul Te said the company is considering its center in McKinley Hill at the Bonifacio Global City in Taguig as the location of Thomson Reuters’s legal support service center.
Business World Online also has the story
Thomson Reuters to put up legal content unit
INFORMATION SERVICES firm Thomson Reuters plans to set up a new facility by yearend to serve clients subscribing to legal content, citing the country’s "highly educated work force."
"The speed by which we will have an operation here would depend on how fast our recruitment would be," Fred K. Gordon, vice-president for legal content operations of Thomson Reuters, said in a briefing yesterday.
"The Philippines with its highly educated work force was the logical location to set up a center for complex services such as the ones the division provides," he added.
Tom C. Leighton, vice-president for the firm’s litigation content center, said employees are expected to do tasks as proofreading, editing, and "rendering and merging" legal cases.
Employees do not need to have academic training in law, but must be able to understand the cases and add analysis, he added.
Cheryl J. Giraulo, vice-president for global content centers, said one of the reasons the company moved to Manila was to provide 24-hour service to clients.
Ms. Giraulo said opportunities would be available to both entry- and management-level employees.
The company however plans to put up a counterpart facility in Hyderabad, India.
The firm said its legal content service is the most profitable among its business and is the second top contributor to last year’s $13.4 billion in revenues.
Thomson Reuters is also opening a customer service facility in Taguig’s McKinley Hill, to serve as a primary support center for English-speaking clients.
