As 2007 draws to a close, I would like to recommend one of my favorite books of 2007: Managing the Modern Law Firm, edited by Laura Empson (Oxford University Press 2007). The book analyzes large, international law firms, and explains clearly why some succeed–and others don’t. For more on this topic, read my recent review.
Yes, LPO (not to be confused with IPO or LBO or other acronyms popular in our trade) is here, in a BIG way. And bigger and bigger players are entering the Legal Process Outsourcing (”LPO”) business.
Today’s Lawyer.com reports how Infosys Technologies, India’s second largest IT company, will launch its LPO business soon. It’s already cultivating clients in North America, Europe and the Middle East, and staffing up with Indian and US attorneys–all in anticipation of a booming LPO market. As reported, Indian research house Value Notes projects LPO revenues in India to reach $640m by the end of 2010. No wonder that revenues will skyrocket, especially when most LPO providers offer attorney services 24/7 (per Dorothy Thomas at the Hindu Business Line).
Whether you are ready to embrace this trend, or simply want learn how to respond to it, you might be interested in the January 2008 Indian LPO Summit sponsored by the American Conference Institute.
The Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) has published guidelines for electronic ID cards to be used by European lawyers. Each Member State would issue cards embedded with an electronic chip to its lawyers, enabling lawyers to operate easily throughout Europe. The CCBE, which represents over 700,000 lawyers from the European Union and European Economic Area through bars and law societies, produces the existing CCBE ID cards. However, it hopes to enhance cross-border interoperability by adding the electronic chips to the cards for better tracking. As envisioned, any lawyer with such card would have met minimum technical standards agreed by all the Member States.
Many thanks to Aaron Schildhaus, liasion from the ABA’s Section of International Law to the CCBE, for drawing this to my attention.
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No international firm can have offices in every promising international jurisdiction-unless you’re Baker & McKenzie, of course.
And so, many international law firms join networks like the International Lawyers Network and Lex Mundi to boost their ties abroad. Each of the nine or so established international lawyer networks vets its members before letting one join. Each also charges a membership fee. In return, the law fims build relationships with each other– and hopefully receive lucrative referrals as a result.
Increasingly, networks are offering educational components, like webinars, and even secundment options. A recent article titled A Crowded Marketplace in the ABA International Daily News discusses the advantages of such international lawyer networks.
While in London earlier this month, we discussed the merits of these networks during the panel discussion I led on Cross-Cultural Client Development at the recent ABA Section of International Law conference. Some lawyers-particularly those from regional law firms–felt that international lawyer networks had really benefited them by meaningfully connecting them to firms throughout the world. However, others (such as some in house international lawyers) expressed concern about relying on such networks; these attorneys preferred to hire the best attorney in each location regardless of the network connection.
The consensus favored (i) joining networks to increase referrals and build relationships but (ii) not to feel obligated to work with a particular network member, and only to work with the ones best suited for the matter at hand.
Meet me in London next week when I lead a panel discussion during the fall conference of the International Law Section of the American Bar Association about Cross-Cultural Client Development. The session takes place on Thursday, October 4 from 10:45-12:15, and my fellow panel members will include, Derek Jones of Baker Botts (London office), Professor Susan Segal-Horn and Jose Antonio Munoz of Arias & Munoz.
Later that day I will also be presenting a mini-training session on Global Rainmaking with international trainer Megan Walters of Isongo.
I hope to see you then!
