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Is Outsourcing an Opportunity for Law Firms?
In the very broadest sense, any service acquired outside of an organization to supplement core services and resources is outsourced. Although outsourcing is a bad word among some categories of employees, it allows companies to focus on core competence, build expertise, control expenses, eliminate waste and directly provide value to clients or customers. Ideally, the vendor bears the overhead cost for the outsourced service, and when the need comes to an end, so does the financial relationship.
Opportunities for outsourcing exist for law firms as well. Over the four decades since the explosive growth in private firms began, many of their needs have been outsourced, from mailroom and photocopy services to accounting. Legal research has been outsourced to leased databases, and so has more specialized legal research and brief writing, the traditional work of law firm associates. Since associates, paralegals, and library services now make up a substantial part of a law firm's operating budget, properly leveraging the best talent and outsourcing the balance of services can stop the bleeding of many firms. Reassessing the meaning of profitability can also help. If the right outside provider is found, this can be an ideal relationship for cost-conscious management.
Outsourcing arrangements support the professional problem solving that is the real art being sold by law firms. The tools needed to solve a legal problem are rarely of any interest to a client unless or until they show up on a bill. When faced with high legal fees, a company with a large legal department may prefer to buy efficiencies and fixed costs through a legal research and brief writing firm and keep the problem solving in-house. The research and brief writing can be bought from the best recommended providers at a fraction of the cost of today's billable hour. The billable hour, after all, includes the cost of waste and inefficiency.
Yachts, Jets, Horses & Hooch: Specialized Commercial Leasing Models
Defining commercial real estate asset class is essentially a property explaining how it identifies — not necessarily what its original intention was or what others think it ought to be. This article discusses, from a general issue-spot and contextual analysis perspective, how lawyers ought to think about specialized leasing formats and the regulatory backdrops that may inform what the documentation needs to contain for compliance purposes.
Hyperlinked Documents: The Latest e-Discovery Challenge
As courts and discovery experts debate whether hyperlinked content should be treated the same as traditional attachments, legal practitioners are grappling with the technical and legal complexities of collecting, analyzing and reviewing these documents in real-world cases.
Identifying Your Practice's Differentiator
How to Convey Your Merits In a Way That Earns Trust, Clients and Distinctions Just as no two individuals have the exact same face, no two lawyers practice in their respective fields or serve clients in the exact same way. Think of this as a "Unique Value Proposition." Internal consideration about what you uniquely bring to your clients, colleagues, firm and industry can provide untold benefits for your law practice.
Risks and Ad Fraud Protection In Digital Advertising
The ever-evolving digital marketing landscape, coupled with the industry-wide adoption of programmatic advertising, poses a significant threat to the effectiveness and integrity of digital advertising campaigns. This article explores various risks to digital advertising from pixel stuffing and ad stacking to domain spoofing and bots. It will also explore what should be done to ensure ad fraud protection and improve effectiveness.
Turning Business Development Plans Into Reality
This article offers practical insights and best practices to navigate the path from roadmap to rainmaking, ensuring your business development efforts are not just sporadic bursts of activity, but an integrated part of your daily success.