Point to be noted …

In the recently conducted Financial Times Legal outsourcing roundtable two main issues came out in the discussion. First, what is the line of separation between KPO and LPO and second the future of newly qualified lawyers in view of the recent changes in the legal industry such as LPO, the Legal Services Act, alternative billing etc.

Mark Ross has in his write-up spoken about in detail about these points. The nature of work done by LPO is not solely dependant on the fact that the purchaser is a law firm or corporate legal department. Ross in his article talks about various services that otherwise are being outsourced by the law firms but are of HRO and ITO nature.

And with respect to the education and future of the law graduates one has to keep in mind that the sole aim of education is to empower. Outdated syllabus and perspective belonging to the bygone era will only prove detrimental for the students when they would have to face the dynamic reality of the legal industry. The emphasis in the curriculum should be based on the forces of demand in the legal domain rather than archaic thinking of the syllabus setters. IGNOU’s step towards providing a diploma in LPO can be seen as an avant garde venture into the new legal education arena.