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31 October 2019 / Dan Reed
Issue: 7862 / Categories: Features , Profession , Legal services , Technology
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Beyond outsourcing

Dan Reed reports on the brave new world of enterprise legal services
  • Law firm spend and its impact.
  • Realising the potential for law firm transformation.
  • Steps to take for a win-win outcome.

Corporate legal spend has increased significantly in recent years as litigation and other risk has shot up the boardroom agenda. And control of that spend is a constant conversation topic between GCs and their C-Suite bosses, with knock-on impacts for the firms that advise them. Much has been written about the rise of innovative outsourcing and managed legal services arrangements, and of course the advent of legal super-tech, all focused on delivering more value in the legal supply for less money. It’s a brave new world of law being done differently, and with the right imagination the possibilities seem endless. But the opportunities are so much bigger than lawyers currently envisage. Done the right way and pushed to its full potential, the terms ‘outsourcing’ and ‘managed legal services’ don’t even cover it. Indeed, these descriptors become entirely inadequate.

Ambition

Lawyers

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NEWS
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A sprawling Intellectual Property Office battle between House of Fraser and Frasers Property has delivered a masterclass in modern trade mark law
Courts in England and Wales and Singapore are increasingly confronting complex disputes over international child relocation as families become more globally mobile
The government’s long-awaited family law reform consultation could mark a turning point for domestic abuse victims navigating financial remedy proceedings, but significant challenges remain
A new commercial court pilot giving the public access to documents used in hearings, including expert reports, is raising difficult questions about transparency and privacy
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