Legal Process Outsourcing is indeed the buzzword in the outsourcing industry at present. the same time it has managed to catch the attention of the youth on a lookout for a lucrative career to jet set on to a secure future. However, there still are certain ifs and buts, here and there – causing apprehensions in the minds of the professional / student fraternity, which acts as a deterrent keeping them at bay. The big question is - What is this activity known as Legal Processing all about? Moreover, what are the opportunities for the aspiring candidates?

The outsourcing industry, also termed as LPO Industry, is ideally a second-generation vertical of Business Process Outsourcing (BPO). It is the high value, high growth business that is rapidly being decoupled from the co-existence of the BPO. Outsourcing of Legal processes is transforming into one of the most exciting and interesting areas to work in. It involves working on projects related to top of the line legal work outsourced from US and European countries to countries like India - to leverage upon the cost advantage and to tap the abundance of skilled lawyers. It needs greater analytical skills, is more subjective and is critical to the client’s business.

LPO work essentially revolves around the following-

Legal transcription and drafting services

Law firms have extensive documentation requirements, which normally get outsourced to India. This involves data entry or activities like sending correspondence, document management and indexing, drafting memos etc. This is the entry level, low value-high volume task. Owing to low risks, this sometimes tops the priority lists for firms starting outsourcing.

Patent prosecution assistance

This is the hottest area in Outsourcing of legal processes. It involves assistance in filing patent applications, infringement studies, IP asset management services, prior art searches and the like.

Legal research

It involves performing legislative history research, jurisdiction studies and other typical case study researches that are common with the legal profession. When dealing with corporate activities, like mergers and acquisitions - legal due diligence of the potential targets or acquirers and their accompanying legal issues - is imperative. This involves extensive data research etc and hence a lucrative outsourcing task.

Other services

Other legal services include wills, probates, injury compensation, workplace laws etc. It is pertinent to know that the LPO services comprise of reviewing transactional and litigation documents, drafting contracts, research memoranda and due diligence reports, prosecuting patents and negotiations.

Requisites

Well, to get involved in the LPO framework, following are the essential requirements:

• A good academic record (law / engineering degree from a recognized university)
• Relevant work experience (preferably in the legal / IP profession)
• Research and drafting skills
• Knowledge of the Anglo-American (Common law) jurisprudence is an asset
• An analytical bent of mind with good research skills
• Proficiency with both written and spoken English is essential
• Required personality traits (i.e. passion to work, patience to learn new laws everyday and the ability to apply the same)

The nature of LPO work mostly being research oriented - it requires people to have a right aptitude and attitude for efficient and effective research and drafting.

Need is both for experienced people and graduates - right out of college. The industry employs the highly professional people and uses their expertise and young graduates - after recruitment, may be trained according to the needs.

Career Opportunities

The career path may be in either of two directions for a legal professional in LPO framework- Specializing in a single practice like Intellectual property or across different areas like Intellectual property, contracts, research, transcription and so on. While both are equally rewarding - it depends on what you want from your job - versatility or specialization.

LPO (including IPR) sector offers an excellent career outlook and confers the following major benefits –

Quality of work

It provides an opportunity to experience the cases and issues that are unique in themselves, interesting to work upon and ultimately work that is satisfying.

Strong International affiliations

Most Indian Law firms do not have strong international affiliations as of now. The work undertaken by them is highly localized and domestic in nature. However, LPO industry generates work from around the globe and in the process provides challenging opportunities to learn about laws pertaining to various countries, giving you unmatched workplace versatility. Thus, working for LPOs provides you with avenues for a broader and highly globalized professional networking.

Great pay

The rewards are commensurate with your skills, but at the same time, if you have the potential with the right aptitude and attitude to learn, the industry is surely willing and rewarding. With the demand on an all time high and a dearth of skilled professionals, salaries for deserving people are skyrocketing. Salaries for beginners are anywhere upwards of 2.4 Lakh per annum and increase proportionate to your experience.

Apart from the pay package, which is not the primary consideration for many of the present day progressive professionals / graduates - growth opportunities and scope for learning as an individual are way ahead of remunerations offered.

Exposure to International litigation and the global market

If - in future - you plan to practice litigation internationally, LPO would really be an ideal learning ground, as it will help you understanding the procedure and research involved to this extent. Although, the outsourcing firm’s employees are initially deployed to paralegal services and the work in turn is reviewed and approved by counsels and attorneys with the required licenses in the US, yet the process generates good hands on experience.

Hence, LPO sector offers a good working atmosphere with global exposure and an opportunity to develop skill sets in a specialized field.

Learning by Training

Training plays a key role in developing the capabilities. The extent of on the job training and mentoring ensures that there are newer learning avenues for employees - always. Apart form that the nature of job, which involves projects related to different jurisprudential systems ensure that there is an essential and well-ingrained learning mechanism for the employees.

Team work

Working in an LPO is as much about individual commitments to quality as about teamwork. It is important to excel not only as individuals but also to take your team along - as you do so. Time is of essence in delivery mechanisms here, as many a times - firms are looking to primarily capitalize upon the 12 hour time difference. Hence, what is your work for the day, has to be essentially up and ready for review again at the offices in US by the next working day there.

Thus, it is important to be a team player along with the ability to motivate your team.

Ways of Recruitments

It must be noted that career growth largely depends on an early or timely start. It is essential to capitalize upon the opportunities by starting the detailed search of LPO and application. Visiting the websites of various LPO vendors gives an idea about the nature of firm, the type of work undertaken etc. Normally, most LPO firms follow one or more of the five methods of recruitment-

• Referrals through existing employees
• Placement agencies (as KPO Consultants)
• Online websites or job portals
• Advertisements in trade-specific publications such as Journals (LPO Watch)
• Conferences and workshops

The business model of the Legal processing outfits is indeed rather impervious. This sector also requires higher level of control, confidentiality and enhanced risk management. Firms require employees to sign confidentiality agreements on joining. It is important to understand the terms and conditions carefully before doing so.

Finally, India has a growing population of people with legal education and capable of handling high-end legal processes based work and research. With a huge talent pool, India could emerge as a global LPO hub as the sector requires specialized knowledge of global legal processes. With around 70,000 law students graduating every year, if properly managed - there should be no shortage of skilled work force. With an increasing number of companies, turning to India for outsourcing legal work- the demand is expected to rise even further. Cost arbitrage and skilled (and scalable) human resource would be the two key driving forces behind this rise.

Hence, do not just wait and watch the world past by. Get up and prepare yourself for an excellent work exposure and a challenging career!!

Author: Seema Avasthi, Consultant, KPO Consultants

About KPO Consultants

KPO Consultants is the pioneer consulting company which provides business solutions exclusively to the LPO industry. We work with the established and aspiring LPOs to set up their LPO ventures and overcome their complicated business problems and also help management make big decisions affecting top line growth of their company. KPO Consultants offers consulting in areas of strategy, operations, technology, marketing and sales, human resources, and strategic alliances. We also provide end-to-end support across entire business lifecycle; building business synergies from the scratch till realization of its benefits and ongoing developments. We have served several clients in the United States, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Philippines, Mauritius, India, Canada, Australia, and many more countries.

For more information, please visit our website www.kpoconsultants.com or write to us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .