While you were sleeping…

A lot is changing in the current legal market. Be it the United States or the United Kingdom where we are seeing the legal industry going through turmoil. With the Alternative Business Structures being implemented and of course the LSA, the law firms are a little shaken up.
What is everyone doing to beat this change and move ahead in a manner which is fruitful and gives that competitive edge? In a recent webinar by me on Legal Outsourcing – Paving theRoad Ahead!!, I had attempted to focus on this issue. We are seeing that today, it has become a more of buyers market rather than a seller’s market. And clients today are demanding more and more cost effective services with the high quality.
We are seeing a trend where we have external investments being pumped in to the law firms, super market law shops selling legal services and of course something which cannot be missed is the extensive mergers which are taking place in the industry. By joining forces, the smaller law firms hope to widen their service offering and to retain existing clients. For larger firms, mergers are giving way to ready-made regional offices and international offices or expanded practices. These are definitely some of the things which are coming in to light.
However, another important change which we see happening is the more and more utilization of outsourced legal and paralegal services. Yes, infact legal process outsourcing has jumped up to action like a spring and is being used by more and more firms now. A very recent study showed that almost 15% of the law firms in UK are now outsourcing and reaping benefits off it.
While law-firm profits have been moving up slowly since the recession, earnings haven’t returned to the expected growth. And the gap between the wealthiest and lesser players is expanding. And outsourcing is emerging as a savior.
The road blocks which existed for outsourcing have cleared out and has given way to firms to go ahead in that direction. The key thing here is to wake up and smell the need to do something different than the conventional ways of practice. While you may be sleeping, your competitors may be moving ahead and getting that competitive edge which will help them to survive in this current market scenario.
If you are not riding the wave of change……..you’ll find yourself beneath it. Are you one of those who are waiting to “follow” others or the ones to be the “leaders”?