ACC Annual Meeting – Driving value through LPOs
Numerous legal departments are continually being asked to do more with less and manage their costs. At the 2014 Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Annual Meeting, the session titled “Who Says You Need Big Spend/Size to Drive Value?” offered some great examples of leveraging various resources that could help many legal departments.
One example in particular highlighted a legal department’s struggles to handle their internal functions and meet the needs of returning contracts in a timely fashion. They were challenged to increase their legal service, but had to reduce the cost of those services. They chose to explore legal process outsourcing (LPO) to help with select areas of their legal work. During their search, the type of support being sought was made very clear, focusing on contract drafting, research, forms and compliance support.
Upon choosing an LPO, they built a strong relationship with the LPO team they were working with, but maintained one key contact that served as the day-to-day manager of the relationship, especially during the on-boarding process. The suggestions for a successful implementation of outsourcing included:
- Regular calls/meetings
- More calls and visits
- Written playbooks
- Clear definition of roles
- Analyzed metrics
- Use of technology to ensure good communication
As legal departments are continually being challenged, either through cost reduction, efficiency or additional workload, LPOs can serve as a valuable ally in helping improve efficiency and streamline operations, minimize risks and reduce legal costs.
