Why Businesses Should Outsource Legal Work
The legal issues that businesses face can often be complex and overwhelming. Even for corporations with an in-house general counsel, legal issues can quickly become too frequent and too complex. It’s also important to have lawyers who specialize in the specific practice areas and industries that you currently need legal help in.
This is where outsourcing legal work comes in. Outsourcing legal work to law firms, freelance lawyers, or alternative legal service providers is the perfect solution to a business’s complex legal issues. It offers several benefits.
Cost Effective
One of the major benefits of outsourcing legal work is cost effectiveness. It’s typically much cheaper to outsource legal work than it is to hire additional in-house attorneys or law firm support. Outsourcing saves significant costs on salaries, office space, benefits, and more. You only need to pay for the legal work you need when you need it. Cost savings are especially true for smaller companies or startups because they typically do not have the financial resource to hire full time law staff or maintain an in-house legal department.
Specialized Legal Expertise
Another big benefit of outsourcing legal work is the access to specialized legal expertise. For instance, if your business is currently going through a merger or acquisition, you will definitely want to hire an M&A lawyer. Alternatively, if your business needs assistance with a complex intellectual property situation, you should hire an IP attorney. Hiring a lawyer who specializes in the practice area that you need support in is more efficient and will provide better results at a lower cost.
Flexibility
Flexibility and scalability are also notable advantages of hiring outside legal support. This allows businesses to hire legal professionals as needed and scale the amount of help required based on the complexity and volume of the legal work. Because businesses aren’t tied to the fixed costs of a law firm or full-time employee, the flexibility here is a huge cost saver. Companies can hire outside support to handle specific projects like mergers and contract negotiations. Once the projected is completed, the arrangement can end.
Efficiency
Outsourcing improves the efficiency of legal processes. Specialized lawyers have the experience, knowledge, and processes in places to provide faster turnaround times and increase productivity. The benefits of this will ripple through out your business because increased efficiency in tackling your legal issues frees up time and resources to be applied elsewhere.
Handling Volume Fluctuations
Many companies experience fluctuations in their legal workload, with periods that are much busier than others. Outsourcing legal work gives companies the ability to manage excess legal work during periods with intense volume, without incurring the cost of hiring and maintaining full time legal staff. During periods where there is less legal work, legal staff can easily be scaled back.
International Needs
Legal experts are available in all areas of the world. If a company is operating in a foreign country or planning to expand there, they can hire legal experts who are familiar with the laws and regulations in that country. It is important to ensure that your company complies with foreign regulations, but it is unrealistic to hire a full-time employee to handle it. Also, The international availability for outsourcing legal work is a big benefit. Additionally, staff can be found and hired locally.
Regulatory Compliance
Deep legal knowledge and experience is often required to handle complex compliance and regulatory issues. By outsourcing your company’s legal work to experienced regulatory and compliance legal experts; you can ensure that your business stays on the right side of the law. Also, This is especially true when navigating through complex legal issues like mergers, acquisitions, agreements, and intellectual property.
Outsourcing Legal Work to an Alternative Legal Service Provider (ALSP)
When it comes to outsourcing legal work, an alternative legal service provider (ALSP) is a great option for companies. Many businesses choose to work with ALSPs for a variety of reasons. Alternative legal service providers provide reduced costs; experts in any practice area or industry, scalability, flexibility, and access to a global legal support network. Axiom Law, for example, employs over 14,000 lawyers globally, with experience and knowledge in over thirteen different practice areas.
Alternative legal service providers complement in-house legal teams and can efficiently handle complex legal issues, allowing companies to focus on their core business efforts. They ensure efficiency and quick, on-going access to professional legal advice. For companies seeking specialized legal services without the cost and burden of hiring full time in-house legal staff; ALSPs are a great option that’s worth considering.
Take Away
Outsourcing legal work is a great way to streamline your business and effectively tackle complex legal issues. It helps with cost effectiveness an provides specialized legal expertise, flexibility, and efficiency. However, it’s always important to carefully select the firm or legal service that you are going to work with in order to ensure quality, confidentiality, and regulatory compliance. As one of the more flexible and affordable types of engagements, consider working with an alternative legal service provider (ALSP). Remember to always do your due diligence and thoroughly research any legal service provider before starting to work together.
