Alternative Legal Services Providers 2023 Report: Reactions from the Legal Industry
“ALSPs have a greased runway to start soaking up business.” That’s among the reactions – this one from Above the Law’s Joe Patrice – to findings of the Alternative Legal Services Providers 2023 Report, released last week by the Thomson Reuters Institute; the Center on Ethics and the Legal Profession at Georgetown Law; and the Saïd Business School, University of Oxford.
Journalists, bloggers, and industry influencers are sharing their perspectives on the report. They’re focusing on the growth of the ALSP market, how law firm captives are the smallest – yet fastest-growing – part of the market, how most law firms plan to either increase or at least maintain their ALSP spend, and the top use cases for ALSPs.
Today Legal Current shares their takes, including those who noted the growth in using ALSPs for consulting on legal technology – for everything from outsourcing technology support to technology training to learning about what legal technologies are available in the market.
In ABA Journal, Matt Reynolds highlighted this trend: “Consulting on technology was one of the fastest-growing use cases for firms, according to the report. More than one-half of large firms and more than one-third of midsize and more than one-third of small firms use ALSPs for those services.” Legal Dive’s Lyle Moran also noted how “law firms are increasingly using alternative providers for consulting on legal technology.”
On LinkedIn, Paul Fischer, president, Legal Professionals, Thomson Reuters, called this “a good indicator that legal professionals are committed to using legaltech to drive growth and efficiencies for their firms and organizations. It aligns with another trend around technology spend; it’s one of the few areas of law firm overhead that grew during the pandemic, even as firms cut spending in recruiting and business development.”
In Law.com, Andrew Maloney called out other market trends driving ALSP usage: “With overhead and payroll costs a growing concern for Big Law and their clients, a new report suggests both parties may increasingly look to alternative legal service providers to provide value, meet demand and plug into new technology.”
Sara Merken from Reuters emphasized the report findings on the growth of law firm captive ALSPs with real-world examples: “Large law firms including Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton and Norton Rose Fulbright have recently created new alternative legal ventures.”
Patrice concluded his report coverage in Above the Law with how the ALSP market has evolved: “There’s a lot in this report, but the primary takeaway is that if there were ever a battle between law firms and ALSPs for work, that’s over. The strategic challenge of the next decade is figuring out which industry players — law firms, in-house, accounting firms — best leverage ALSP concepts.”
Download the full report for insight on how law firms and corporate legal departments are making the most of ALSPs.
