LEGAL PROCESS OUTSOURCING

IN INDIA

A presentation by:
Tushar Gupta 10FN 115
Vishal Agarwal 10DM 176
Konduri 10FN 109

K.S.G.Tarun 10DM -162

Nikhil Gupta 10FN 120 Srikanth
Saurabh Thadani 10FN 102

Agenda
The LPO Industry
Ripples of reforms
Advantage India
Global Business Environment effects
Critical challenges faced
Sustaining the boom

The LPO Industry

What it is

History and
Emergence

Key Markets

Involves establishing a communication link with law firms and attorneys

abroad
Less sensitive low end tasks such as drafting, reviewing and reporting
documents, litigation support etc are outsourced
High end tasks are carried out by associates onshore

Bickel & Brewer set up its subsidiary, I&A International in Hyderabad in 1995
GE was the first company to offshore its in house legal work for GE Plastics
and GE Consumer Finance

India and Philippines are the leading LPO destinations

The US, the UK, Australia, France, China, Japan and South Korea are the
main outsourcers

Growth
The Sunrise
Industry
LPO

o
o

o
o

KPO

3,00,000
Indians enroll
year
2008,2009
40%in Law Courses every
5%
79,000 English speaking graduates pass out
Only 850 get offers from top law firms
Expected to triple by 2015 and employ around 17000
professionals
Nasscom estimate: Only 3%-4% of the market had been tapped
ValueNotes, Indias legal outsourcing revenues $440 million this
year to more than $1.6 billion in 2014 up from $146 million in
2006.
US $80 mn in 2005, expected to become a US$ 4 bn business
offering 80,000 jobs by 2015
In 2006, LPO industry recorded US $ 146 mn, In 2007 LPO
revenues increased to US$ 218mn.
30% BPOs expressed an interest to enter the LPO industry
50 LPOs in 05, 140 in 09

UK following the suit

How it began?

We went from quiet self confidence to outrageous

ambition in a decade

Words of Tarun Das

Chief mentor,CII
Courtesy The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman

Ripples of reforms
o
o
o

o
o

1991-2005: Era of liberalization (CAG:6%)

Service sector: 52% of GDP in 2004-05
Service exports US $25bn(FY03) to
$60bn(FY05)
Growth acceleration through privatization,
foreign investment, tax reduction
ITES increased by 33%, Outsourcing is rising
Movement from BPO to KPO to now LPO

Advantage India
o

Legal expenditure of foreign firms reduced by 50%

to 80%
Indian Lawyers - US$ 20 to US$30 per hour
US Lawyers - US$ 150 to US$ 200 per hour
Same economic infrastructure used by BPO and IT
industries.
Larger pool of English speaking law graduates in
India
Indian Legal system is based on English Common
Law
Turnaround time of 24 hrs

Anecdotes
There is now a very clear economic
reason for both corporate and law firms
to look for offshoring. India has proven
that they can deliver the same quality, if
not better, from what they got when they
did the work onshore.
Bhaskar Bagchi,
country head CPA Global
CPA Global Leading provider of LPO & worlds top IP management specialist

Global Business Environment : A Perfect

Catalyst

Recession

o
o

Global Financial Crisis led to more litigations and

bankruptcies
Clients expanded their offshore teams for patent research
and analysis

Indian Legal
Scenario

Liberalization and Deregulation of India made it an attractive

destination for outsourcing activity.

Economic
Factors

Increasing fees for attorneys

Shortage of skilled labour abroad
Need to save on time and operational costs (either by sale of
patents or abandoning unused segments)

o
o

Behind the scenes

o

o
o

Development in the outsourcing industry made

India a compelling place for legal work
Introduction of e-discovery law in the US, 2006
Indian Government collaborated with NASSCOM
to ensure that data privacy legislation was
aligned with the US
Boom in Intellectual Property rights lawyers
are handling some interesting legal matters,
including work for the makers of movies and
television shows

Critical Challenges
Faced
Need for trained lawyers both in India and abroad to supervise the
work.
Potential breach of clients confidentiality and Data Security:
Attorney client privilege
Ensuring quality service
Maintaining brand name and reputation
No industry watchdog or regulatory authority
Finding the right talent
Stiffer competition from Philippines, Sri Lanka and South Africa

Sustaining the Boom

o
o

o
o

Need of a regulatory authority

Offers expertise of Indian lawyers for consultation
activities
LPOs in India recruited lawyers from the West to take
on more sophisticated work and win new clients
Tremendous amount of work at all expertise levels,
attractive remuneration and management prospects in
the future.
Work in a Corporate structure; high end opportunities
for graduates of top law schools
Better Pay for Indian Lawyers
More complex legal matters and high end management
recruitment

Thank You