Canadian LPO interests

Lexpert.ca, Canada's leading law related portal did a recent article on Legal Process Outsourcing in its publication, Lexpert Magazine. The article is another evidence of increasing Canadian interest in Indian LPO capabilities.

The article quotes Russell Smith, President and Chairman of SDD Global (one of the fast growing LPO companies in India) and this blogger along with partners at Canadian law firms specializing in outsourcing. Some snippets:

“I would say 90 per cent of the work [being done in North American law firms] can be off shored to India,” says Smith. “If it's not walking into court, holding the client's hand or having a meeting–which by the way most clients don't need anyway–it can be done here.”

“The sector isn't large enough to warrant substantial government focus at this time, but learning from the past I think the government will be very encouraging,” says Jindal. “You can see that I.T. outsourcing has changed the way so many people live in India. Looking at that success I think the government is excited about delivering offshore low-cost, high-quality services to the world.”

“I think its going to be very interesting to watch and see how this market develops over the next five years,” Gross says adding that she would predict that corporations, more than law firms, will begin to use the service.

“The pressure on internal legal departments to find ways to cut their budgets has been increasing by leaps and bounds,” she points out. “More and more Canadian in-house counsel may either start calling on Indian firms directly or directing their Canadian law firm to outsource some of the work.”

“There are times when there might be a good business case for it and it makes sense for any organization capable of doing it properly and effectively but it's not the silver bullet or the panacea to cut legal costs,” she warns. “To the extent that it helps clients cut legal costs and get better service, that's what we're all trying to do… It's certainly not going to devastate the legal markets in Canada onshore.”

Exciting times ahead ...!