Canadian Lawyer

has already been outsourced to some degree to in-house counsel. Then, there is the question of model. Should law firms set up their own LPO entities somewhere with a cheaper labour pool, thereby ensuring the work that is outsourced meets their branded standard, or should law firms outsource to locally owned LPO providers? Regardless of the model, one thing is certain: as LPO catches on, two clear losers emerge: recent law graduates who want to work in firms or in a corporation's legal department (corporations are also turning to outsourcing) and law firms that, unless they wake up, will lose market share. While some point to the opportunities LPO creates for innovative law graduates — instead of working in firms why not found your own LPO company? — few have discussed the opportunity, 2013-2014 ATLANTIC LEGAL TELEPHONE DIRECTORY STAY CONNECTED TO YOUR LEGAL NETWORK 2013-2014 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory connects you to your legal community providing accurate and essential legal contact information in all four Canadian Atlantic Provinces. Compiled by the respected legal directories group at Thomson Reuters, you can rely on a directory that grows and expands with your legal community. Each year find new and updated names, mailing addresses, email addresses and phone numbers for lawyers and law offices. One time purchase $39* On subscription $39* L88804-623 Multiple copy discounts available *Atlantic province residents must include HST Also get quick, easy access to: • Law and Barristers' Societies • Canadian Citizenship Courts • Courts of Appeal • Federal Court of Canada • Government of Canada departments and regional offices • Judicial districts and judicial officials • Incorporated Municipalities • Land registration and information services • The Associations of Land Surveyors • Law Foundation • Provincial government departments • Boards and Commissions • Law Related Services, Institutions and Organizations • University law faculties ... and much more. Stay connected with the 2013-2014 Atlantic Legal Telephone Directory. Order your copy today. Visit www.carswell.com or call 1-800-387-5164 for a 30-day, no risk evaluation 20 ntitled-1 1 October 2013 www.CANADIAN or rather the missed opportunity, LPO creates for Canadian law firms. The idea of outsourcing anything other than very routine work to a foreign jurisdiction is illusory and a race against time. Law is jurisdiction specific. Regardless of the LPO model a firm chooses in a foreign jurisdiction there will always be obstacles linked to cultural, time, and linguistic differences. Moreover, the idea of getting legal or any service more cheaply in a developing nation is nothing more than a race against the development clock. As the nation in question develops, its lawyers will demand wages comparable to those we pay our lawyers for comparable services. To keep ahead of the game financially, firms will be required to move their LPO demands to the "developing country of the month" thus incurring a degree of uncertainty with respect to quality of service that is unpleasant to explain to clients. A better option, and this is where large Canadian law firms appear to be missing the boat, is to establish LPO entities outside large Canadian urban centres where presumably overhead and salaries are cheaper and consequently legal fees are lower. There is no reason that the same technology that is used to link Canadian law firms to LPO providers in developing countries cannot be harnessed to link these same firms to their own LPO providers in other regions of Canada. Moreover, who better than a law firm to recruit the talent required to develop the technology and processes necessary to efficiently conduct due diligence and discovery, assemble closing binders, and maintain corporate books? In addition to protecting market share for commodity-type legal services, a firm-owned and operated LPO provides its owners with some comfort as to quality of service. Outsourcing work on Canadian files to Canadian accredited lawyers who understand the particularities of a given province's legal system is preferable to outsourcing it to lawyers unfamiliar with the jurisdiction. From a partner's perspective, it is much more reassuring to sign a due diligence memo if you know, because L a w ye r m a g . c o m 13-09-17 12:07 PM

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