Guest post: All about Personal Injury Claims

The Right Time to Make a Personal Injury Claim

Personal injury claims are a contentious subject. Whilst there are many cases of personal injury claims being issued to good effect, helping the injured party to gain vital financial support following an injury, there are many more which make the news for entirely the wrong reasons.

This week alone, the British newspapers have been reporting the story of a policewoman who is suing a man who called 999 after she followed up on the call and, whilst at his premises, tripped over a curb. Despite hurting her hand and leg, she has not been left with serious injury. However, she is currently suing the victim of the burglary for £50,000.

Whatever your feeling about the above scenario, it’s undeniable that there is a right time and a wrong time to make a personal injury claim. And when the right time comes, it’s always important to go to a trusted provider such as Mayiclaim.co.uk.

When You Should Make a Personal Injury Claim

The right time to make a personal injury claim is when you’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault. It’s an oft repeated mantra, and one which is true, but it’s also one which should be taken into account alongside other factors.

Personal injury claims need to be supported by medical evidence, so it’s vital that you visit a hospital or GP straight away after your accident. Your injuries will need to be documented, and this documentation used as evidence.

In addition, you should also inform the police of the accident, report it to your insurance company (if relevant) and gather as much evidence as you can about what happened, and where. Some personal injury claims are made following criminal activity or negligence on the part of the defendant. Because of this, reporting the incident to the police will ensure that you are able to build the strongest case possible.

When You Shouldn’t Make a Personal Injury Claim

There are some circumstances in which proceeding with personal injury litigation is not advisable. These circumstances can cover anything, from a lack of evidence to being unable to find a good personal injury claim lawyer.

For example, if you are unable to prove how you sustained your injuries, you will most likely not be successful in your claim. In this scenario its inadvisable that such a claim be undertaken, as you may ultimately end up with costly legal fees. If your injuries are negligible – that is, they are likely to heal quickly and will not affect you on a long term or permanent basis – then you may also see your personal injury claim get turned down.  And if the accident was in any way your fault – perhaps due to inattention or lack of care – then you should remember that this may well come out in the event of your case going to court.

Making a personal injury claim can be very beneficial for the claimant, but always remember that it can end up being very costly for the defendant. If you are injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, it’s best to only claim what you need to until you are well enough to go back to work.

Guest post: Procurement's increased role in sourcing Legal Services

Legallyours welcomes a guest post from Jason Winmill, Partner at Argopoint Consulting LLC. Argopoint has designed award-winning, nationally recognized legal sourcing approaches for leading Fortune 500 companies.

Sophisticated sourcing professionals are introducing innovative sourcing solutions to their legal departments, and in doing so, delivering millions of dollars in savings. Successful collaboration between sourcing and legal can manifest itself in many ways (e.g., exploring alternative supplier models, introducing alternative fee arrangements, issuing RFPs, introducing supplier competition through e-auctions). Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) is among the beneficiaries of strategic interactions between sourcing and legal. Introducing an outsider perspective (i.e., sourcing) can often help drive legal department conversations away from “How can we preserve what we have?” and towards “How can we continue to capitalize on opportunities in the legal marketplace?”

The media is gradually beginning to pick up on these successes: a recent article in the Wall Street Journal noted that several companies (including GlaxoSmithKline, Toyota, Sun Microsystems, and eBay) are using competitive bidding and e-auctions to purchase legal services. As with other important services, effectively sourcing legal is a delicate process with major upside.

“Compared to a few years ago, legal sourcing is now an area where I see major companies investing. Doing legal sourcing properly does require a real investment. It’s not a category where you can watch a few episodes of Law and Order and fake it,” notes Justin Ergler of GlaxoSmithKline Legal Services Procurement, a rising star in this emerging field.

Legal services are highly complex, sensitive, and high-risk; supply management professionals face the difficult challenge of building credibility in the legal department and moving along a steep learning curve without losing sight of short-term savings goals. In spite of these difficulties, savvy sourcing and procurement departments are earning the appreciation of their legal colleagues and guiding meaningful change in their legal departments.

Potential Benefits to Including Sourcing in Legal Projects:

1.     Tools to Facilitate Rigorous Provider Selection: Leading sourcing departments typically have tools and processes (e.g., RFPs, e-auction technology) that can simplify the legal sourcing process. When customized appropriately, these tools can help legal departments obtain greater visibility into their provider network while collecting decision-grade data from alternative providers.

2.     Exposure to a Wide Range of Provider Models: Seasoned sourcing professionals tend to have experience across a range of categories and service areas. While not all of these experiences will translate directly to success in legal, sourcing professionals are often well-positioned to see opportunities for increased efficiency within legal provider models.

3.     Detachment from Long-Standing Provider Relationships: Sourcing professionals are typically not burdened by professional or personal relationships with legal service providers. This outsider status can be appealing when communicating competitive sourcing initiatives to potential and existing providers.

-Jason Winmill, partner at Argopoint LLC

Read this article to learn more about legal sourcing.

Outsourcing Trends for Businesses in 2012

Outsourcing of IT work is increasing considerably in 2012, but that may be the only outsourcing that will increase by a substantial amount. The expansive outsourcing of legal work in the past may have come to a screeching halt, at least temporarily.

The Outsourcing Pace for Legal Work in 2012

Outsourcing of legal work is continuing at a slower pace in 2012, however, many experts believe that business conditions in the law business will prompt an increase. Last month a report from Citi Private Bank’s Law Firm Group said the following about the bottom line for law firms: “With weak demand growth and the continuation of expense growth, it is likely that expenses will continue to grow at a faster pace than revenue, squeezing margins and making it tricky to achieve even low single-digit profit growth.”

Large Law Firms are STILL Looking to Outsource

In light of the possible trouble that may lie ahead for large law firms, many are preparing for the worse. One way to prepare for a tough economic climate is to reduce one’s expenses.

It has been properly noted by David Lat on October 3, 2012 at www.abovethe law.com that the work that generates revenue for firms, still needs to get done. “One way of reducing expenses while still getting all the work done is to outsource certain functions to an outside service provider. This effectively gets job positions ‘off the books’ of the law firm, which no longer has to pay salaries or benefits for the lawyers or staffers in question; the law firm just has to pay the vendor.”


The Canadian Law Firms are Looking at the Reality of Outsourcing

In the September 26, 2012 Toronto Globe and Mail, it was reported that Christopher Sweeney, a co-founder of ZSA and the president of LexLocom, said the Canadian legal market “…has been reluctant to embrace outsourcing.” He says, however, “… the sector is growing, and a future of more outsourcing, and considerably fewer junior lawyers at the big firms, is inevitable.” “I don’t see any way around it,” Mr. Sweeney said. “It is the future.”

There is Still a Negative Outsourcing Growth in 2012

The negative outsourcing growth in 2012 is found in the US associate lateral hiring market in Asia for US and UK firms which are in a severe down cycle, at least when compared to the recent boom hiring periods (mid ’06 – mid ’08; mid ’10 to mid ’11), according to a report in Asian Chronicles published this week.

The Prospects for the Future

The remainder of 2012 will continue to see a slowdown in outsourcing, but the slowdown in revenue and the rise in expenses will ensure that outsourcing will rise again and perhaps to new highs.

Bio: Jacob Taylor, a finance writer for AnyLawsuits Settlement Loans, is an under-graduate writer who enjoys writing financial articles around business and personal finance.

Guest post: The State of Legal Outsourcing c. 2012

The state of the LPO market in mid/late 2012 is fascinating. The missing component is a credible reaction to the threat of LPO by US Law Firms in particular.

Here are 10 Key Facts that should wake up any Law Firm, wherever they are in the world.

1. 10%. This is the percentage of the AmLaw 100 that have taken strategic steps to address the threats posed by the arrival of LPO Suppliers. Those 10% have set up onshore, slightly lower cost options, which come at a price. (See Key Fact 2.)

2. $23 million. This is the cost of implementing an onshore, lower cost delivery centre. Post-Dewey, I’m surprised that any Law Firm sees the value of investing that level of resources in transactional, lower value legal services, but it is exactly the approach that Bingham McCutcheon announced recently.

3. 24 Months. This is the time it takes to establish your own LPO delivery service – 6 months to assess your firm’s options, 12 months to build it, and a further 6 months to get to anything like a stable operating environment.

4. 0. This is the chance that you will achieve the same price, service, and quality levels that the specialist LPO suppliers.

5. 0% This is the percentage of Law Firms who have a strategic offshore options across their firm. Tactically they can offer it via the LPOs they engage, but strategically, most Law Firms have limited options to discuss with their clients

6. 75%. Over 75% of all LPO business cases show saving of over 30%. In my experience 50-60% is not uncommon depending on scope. Regardless, the business case is a no-brainer.

7. 75% (again). This is the average amount of time that LPOs are spending on business development to General Counsel. This means that LPOs are spending three quarters of their time stealing work that would previously have gone to law firms automatically.

8. 32%. This is average annual growth of the LPO market in the last 3 years. This is not new legal work – this is legal work that was, but is no longer, going to Law Firms.
8a. 35% is the forecast annual growth of the LPO sector over the next three years, meaning that a growing drift of work from Law Firms to the LPOs.

9. (Close to) 0% (my estimate). This is the percentage of work that has already gone to the LPOs that will return to the Law Firms. There are always horror stories in outsourcing, but my experience in the market is that buyers are hooked on the concept (quality, service, speed) and pricing of LPO. So they take any bad experience and learn from it with another LPO supplier. They don’t take it back to their Law Firm

10. 100%. The number of General Counsel in medium-large corporations who will look at Legal Outsourcing in the next few years. Strangely, this is the glimmer of hope for forward thinking Law Firms. If they can create a compelling, strategic and flexible offering in this market then they can look sharp against the competition and win more business as a result.

Ed Brooks is the founder of The LPO Program, designed to give General Counsel and Law Firms all the tools and data to take strategic advantage of Legal Outsourcing. www.thelpoprogram.com

Sources:

1.    Research by The LPO Program, not published

2.    Bingham press release

3.    My experience

4.    Based on general experience in 12 years on both sides of the outsourcing fence

5.    As with Point 1

6.    Our 2012 Global LPO Study

7.    Based on interviews with the LPO Suppliers (touched on slightly in the 2012 Study)

8.    And 8a Global LPO Study

9.    This is the hardest one to prove, but it is based on my experience, and I am open to being proven wrong

10.  A reasonably safe bet!

Why outsource in the UK?

At a time when the UK’s economic outlook remains precarious, it can be difficult for businesses to grow and expand. However, with awareness and careful management there is room for businesses of all kinds to perform well and one way companies are able to do this is through the use of outsourcing.

Outsourcing here in the UK can reduce risk for businesses and help them to extend both their service offering and manpower at a time when the rise of operational costs could otherwise make this difficult.  By partnering with outside specialists such as Ventura BPO Services businesses can reduce costs for projects, or a specific element of their operations, while enjoying the revenue generated.

Although outsourcing can take place within the premises of your own company, commonly one factor that can contribute to savings made is the eradication for purchase of equipment, software or the cost of premises when outsourcing is contracted off-site. Despite this, the largest benefit of outsourcing is undoubtedly the ability to have a larger workforce at your disposal on a quick and flexible basis. On top of this outsourcing projects or operational elements of your business means you will not be responsible for the cost of training these staff, nor will you need to employ them on a permanent basis. Outsourcing also allows you to tap into the skills of an external and flexible workforce with existing skillsets allowing businesses to grow and dip their toes in new waters while minimising risk and investment.

Where work is outsourced to experienced teams firms can see increased performance and productivity, as well as enjoying access to the knowledge of experts within the field that the business may otherwise struggle to secure. In this way utilising the service of outsourcers can help you adopt best practices and innovations as you can tap into their tried and tested methods and reap the rewards of their established contact networks.

Press Release: CPA Global celebrates success in Greater China IP market

Growing client base underlines region’s strong focus on intellectual property
and increasing demand for professional IP services

Achievements mark second anniversary of Hong Kong office

CPA Global, the world's top intellectual property (IP) management specialist and a leading provider of legal services outsourcing (LSO), has made significant inroads into the Greater China market since opening its office in Hong Kong two years ago, helping a growing number of companies protect and manage their valuable IP assets.

On the second anniversary of its Hong Kong office, CPA Global is celebrating successful growth in Greater China (incorporating mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan), and an expanding client base, comprising leading corporations in sectors such as telecommunications, electronics, and semi-conductors.

Clients include international telecommunications solutions provider Huawei Technologies; leading global manufacturing companies Johnson Electric and Techtronic Industries (TTI); The Chinese University of Hong Kong; and China Patent Agent, one of China’s leading IP agencies.

Prior to opening its Hong Kong office, CPA Global had already forged successful business alliances in Japan and Korea, and established a strong operational presence in India. The aim of the Hong Kong office was to spearhead CPA Global’s business development in North and South East Asia, with a particular focus on the fast-growing Greater China region.

Commenting on the company’s achievements in the region over the past two years, CPA Global Group Chief Executive Peter Sewell said: “The phenomenal economic growth in Greater China has brought with it a stronger focus on intellectual property as companies in the region increasingly develop their own IP and recognise the value of that intellectual capital. Indeed, China is now the world’s fastest growing market for IP and the largest filer of international patents. We are delighted to have made such significant inroads into this important region since opening our Hong Kong office, and are pleased to be able to celebrate two successful years of helping clients throughout Greater China manage and protect their valuable IP assets.”

Joanne Hon, CPA Global's Head of Sales & Marketing, Asia, who has led the Hong Kong office since its opening, said: “As companies in Greater China have become more international in their outlook and operations, they have seen the benefits of enlisting professional IP management companies like CPA Global to help them manage their IP portfolios to ensure that their prized IP assets are protected and maintained. We are seeing increasing opportunities to work with companies throughout Greater China, as well as other parts of North and South East Asia. Earlier this month, we opened our first office in Korea, and we are planning to open further offices in China over the next couple of years.”

Commenting on their successful working relationship with CPA Global, Chris Murray, Senior Corporate Patent Attorney - Johnson Electric Group, said: "In appointing CPA Global to handle our patent renewals, we were seeking improved efficiency, cost savings, reliability and, above all, peace of mind. And that's exactly what they've delivered for us. This has enabled us to concentrate on other matters and not have to worry about our patent renewals as we know everything will be handled in timely fashion and without drama by CPA Global; and that we will be promptly informed and fully briefed should any issue arise. On top of this, their customer support teams are always quick to respond and friendly to deal with."

Added Emmanuelle Prono, Assistant General Counsel at Techtronic Industries (TTI): “When we looked at consolidating TTI Group’s IP renewal systems and processes, CPA Global was one of the very few IP service providers able to satisfy all of our needs in relation to the renewal of a large and diverse IP portfolio, as well as the monitoring of that portfolio. What made the difference was the proximity and quality of the service of CPA Global’s staff, whether based in Europe or Asia. We are very happy today with the services provided in maintaining and protecting our iconic brands and patents portfolio.”

Xiangling Zeng, Patent Attorney and Deputy General Manager at China Patent Agent (H.K.) Ltd, commented: “Our two companies have developed a strong business relationship and, with the ongoing growth of CPA Global’s Hong Kong office, we believe our relationship will continue to foster and grow.”


* * * *

About CPA Global

CPA Global is the world's top intellectual property (IP) management specialist, and a leading provider of legal services outsourcing (LSO). CPA Global supports many of the world’s best known corporations and law firms with a range of IP and broader legal services, helping them to manage risk, cost and capacity, and realise greater value for their businesses and their IP assets.

CPA Global helps its clients manage their valuable IP Rights, such as patents, designs and trademarks, ensuring that IP portfolios are protected, maintained and regularly reviewed in order to maximise value. Services include search, filing and renewals for patents and trademarks; trademark watching; portfolio valuation and optimisation; as well as IP management software.

Founded in Jersey, Channel Islands in 1969, CPA Global today employs more than 1,500 people, serving clients' needs in over 100 countries. CPA Global has offices in major international locations, including the UK, France, Germany, the USA, Australia, India, China, and Korea; with strategic partnerships in these and other important markets, including Japan.

CPA Global’s diverse client list ranges from major global corporations, headquartered in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, to small and medium-sized enterprises and innovation start-ups; and from top international law firms to national and regional law and IP firms. Clients include leading Fortune 500 and FTSE companies, and two-thirds of the Global Lawyer 100.

2011 State of the LPO Sector Survey

Last year Ravi Shankar, a Harvard Law graduate, administered the 2010 State of the LPO Sector Survey to study business fundamentals of the LPO industry in India at large. The report had (a) profiled LPO firms and (b) sought to understand how they market themselves.[1] Notable findings from the corresponding 2010 State of the LPO Sector Report include:

· Despite strong growth projections, it is a challenge for most LPO firms to attract clients: Why do LPO firms and commentators project strong industry growth, yet firms find it difficult to attract clients? One explanation offered by a plurality of LPO firms is that few firms capture most of the market.

· 2004 to 2007 may have been a “golden age” for starting a LPO firm: Outside of this three-year window, the number of LPO firms entering the industry appears to have fallen. Does this suggest that new entrants are unable to capture market share despite strong growth projections?

· BPO experience helps: In the view of one CEO, BPO companies possess two advantages: First, security infrastructure is in place—both for employees and data. Second, they have experience marketing themselves to an American and British client base.

Informed by the 2010 Survey as well as communication with LPO firms and relevant field experts, the 2011 Survey has evolved to ask LPO firms about their (a) clients, (b) revenue, and (c) opinion of often-cited market analysts. If you are interested please write to Ravi Shankar at IndianLPOSurvey@gmail.com

[1] A full copy of the 2010 Report is available at http://lposavvy.info/downloads/Ravi_Shankars_LPO_Survey_Report.pdf.

[1] A full copy of the 2010 Report is available at http://lposavvy.info/downloads/Ravi_Shankars_LPO_Survey_Report.pdf.