The future of LPO:
India, as we all know, is one of the most promising economies today. Its growth has been immense in the last 5 years and is expected to increase further in the coming days. The country’s stock markets have become a regular feature nowadays that they are touching the 20k mark which shows the powerful growth of the economy. Everyone knows that the dollars are pouring in, but there are many other areas where India can earn more and strengthen its economy. One such growth industry is LPO or legal process outsourcing or LPO, which is expected to rise to $20 billion by 2015. It is helping the success of law schools that will be able to absorb up to 15,000 law grads swooning every year. year. LPO opportunities can transform the legal industry by attracting law graduates to work that is not only large in volume but also diverse in nature.
According to Nasscom, there are currently only 700 Indian lawyers working in the various LPOs across the country. Forrester Research estimates that there could be a demand for as many as 79,000 LPO professionals in the next 7-8 years. Are you aware that at law firms in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, which serve the legal requirements of various US and European based multinational companies, the work of these companies is outsourced?
Legal outsourcing to India had previously started at a very low level and the quality of work was low, including transcription. With rising legal costs in the US and in the EU, they are among a variety of other factors that are driving legal work to India. The recent trend is that offshoring work is now being done at all levels of experience, attracting a number of legal professionals. The main factor is that Indian legal services are affordable and also more efficient. In terms of competition, Indian lawyers are cheaper for the foreign firm to do the same type of work in India compared to a US law firm. Everything you do, from drafting patent applications, legal research, pre-litigation documentation, advising clients, analyzing redacted documents, drafting software license agreements to drafting distribution agreements , is currently outsourced to India. The type of work that Indian lawyers do is to prepare the pleadings and provide support for the investigation related to the litigation.
Currently, there are around 75 large and small law firms in India dedicated to serving their clients in the US, UK and other European countries. 155 of the top 200 US law firms outsource at least some of their work. But several leading LPOs, including Quislex, Law Scribe, and Mind crest, have created such business models for high-volume, high-value opportunities that they strongly believe are out there for all to see. Investigation, transaction support, and case analysis are good examples of high-value work that is also coming in high volumes for LPOs.
For a young legal professional, a career with an LPO is attractive for several reasons:
1. It’s a nascent industry that should boom in the next 3-5 years.
2. There is a wide variety of work at all levels of experience.
3. High-end opportunities for graduates of top law schools with sizeable salary packages and future management prospects.
4. Provides the opportunity to work in a corporate structure without borders.
5. A platform for those considering legal and paralegal careers in the UK or the US.
A person who is taking up LPO as a profession will need to be well versed in English. Currently, 80% of all LPO work comes from the US. Therefore, knowledge of American English, writing, and research methodology are essential. It is also essential to know how to work with MS Office/Adobe software. Only a small percentage of graduating attorneys are equipped with all the skills necessary for the LPO industry. If you are given the proper training in US legal systems and methodologies, then it would not be a problem to understand you, which is the key to success.
There is a great deal of work that can be done, or in some cases required to be done by non-lawyers. For example, there is a huge demand for intellectual property rights engineers to do patent work. They are the ones who go through the patent applications. The work consists of analyzing scientific and technological inventions in order to develop legal protection for them. This work should be done by people with technological skills and experience.
There is a message that I would like to give to the young lawyers who are planning to enter the industry now, as the LPO market approaches, they will be the ones who will benefit when the industry grows. in his prime.
