Meltdown boosts legal outsourcing

21 Nov 2008, 0406 hrs IST, Nikhila Henry, TNN

HYDERABAD: The global meltdown has turned a boon for legal services industry in the costs, they are searching for cheap and good quality legal aid through legal process outsourcing companies (LPOs). Around 100 LPOs have come up in the city in the last one year, a CEO of an LPO told TOI. Interestingly, around 70 per cent of them mushroomed in the past five months of the global crisis. Further, the growth of the industry under the prevailing circumstances is expected to be between 50 and 100 per cent. "There is tremendous growth in the market because the industry is more stable with clients from the US and UK thinking that LPOs are a good option to reduce costs and get good quality legal services," Quislex (LPO), CEO, Ram Vasudevan told TOI. Companies save 50 to 75 per cent of their costs on legal services once their work is outsourced. "Some companies have saved as much as $9,00,000 per deal just because they outsourced the work. There is no loss for clients if the LPO is reliable," Vasudevan said. LPOs, including Mind Quest, Pangea and Lawscribe and Quislex are cashing in on the boom. Most of these companies have a work force of 200 to 300 lawyers. Many big LPOs offer a variety of services, including legal help in mergers and acquisitions, contract analysis, contract procurement and litigation analysis. The companies which seek legal aid are mainly software companies and MNCs. Law students find the sector lucrative with pay packages in the range of Rs 10.5 lakh to Rs 17 lakh per annum. "While the meltdown is affecting many law firms, the students find LPOs a good avenue to work. Many such companies have come forward to recruit students from the university," HRD, IP, chair professor and head, Center for IP Law Studies, Nalsar University of Law, Dr V C Vivekanandan said. And the icing on the cake is that many LPOs are planning to induct fresh recruits in the summer of 2009.

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Posted By: Lakshmi S. Junior Associate, LegalEase Solutions.