LPO's Future in India

LPO's future:

India as we all know is one of the most upcoming economies in the present times. Its growth has been immense in the past 5 yrs and it is expected to rise more in the coming days. The country's stock markets have become a regular feature nowadays that they are touching the mark of 20k which shows the mighty growth of the economy. Everybody knows that dollars are pouring in but there are so many other areas where India can earn more, make its economy strong. One of such growing industry is the LPO or legal process outsourcing or LPOs which is expected to rise to $20 billion by 2015. It is helping in the success of law schools that will be able to absorb as many as 15,000 law graduates which pass out every year. LPO opportunities can transform the legal industry by drawing law graduates into work that's not just large in volume but diverse in nature.
According to Nasscom there are presently just 700 Indian lawyers who are working in the various LPO's throughout the country. Forrester Research estimates that there could be a demand for as many as 79,000 LPO professionals in the next 7-8 years. Are you aware of that at law firms in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, who serve the legal requirements of several MNCs which are based in the US and Europe, the work of such companies is outsourced.

Legal outsourcing to India had earlier begun at a very low level and the quality of work was low-end which included transcription. With rising legal costs in the U.S. and in the EU, they are amongst a variety of other factors that are driving the legal work to India. The recent trend is that there is now offshoring work is done at every level of expertise which appeals a number of legal professionals. The major factor is that Indian legal services are affordable and more efficient too. As for competency, Indian lawyers work out cheaper for the foreign firm as to get the same kind of work done in India as compared to a US law firm. Everything done from patent application drafting, legal research, pre-litigation documentation, advising clients, analyzing drafted documents, writing software licensing agreements to drafting distribution agreement is presently being outsourced to India. The kind of work that Indian lawyers do is that they make pleadings ready and provide back-up support for litigation-related research.

Currently, there are around 75 big and small law firms in India which are dedicated to serve their clients in the US, UK and other European countries. Already 155 of the top 200 U.S. law firms outsource atleast some portion of their work. But several leading LPOs including Quislex, Law Scribe, and Mind crest have created such business models for high-volume high-value opportunities which they strongly believe are out there for everyone to see. Research, Transaction Support, Case Analysis are good examples of high-value work that's also coming across in large volumes to the LPO's.

For a young legal professional, a career with an LPO is attractive for several reasons:

1.It is a sunrise industry which should see a boom in the next 3-5 years.

2.There is a tremendous variety of work at all levels of expertise.

3.High-end opportunities for graduates of top law schools with hefty pay packages and future management prospects.

4.Gives an opportunity to work in a corporate structure without borders.

5.A platform for those who are considering legal and paralegal careers in the U.K. or the U.S.

A person who is taking up an LPO as a profession will have to be well versed in English. Currently, 80% of all LPO work emanates from the U.S. So knowing American English, drafting and research methodology are essential. Knowing how to work on MS Office /Adobe software's is also essential. Only a tiny percentage of graduating lawyers are equipped with all the skills needed for the LPO industry. If given proper training to the U.S. legal systems and methodologies then it would not be a problem to grasp it which is the key for success.

There is a large chunk of work that can be done, or in some cases is required to be done by non-lawyers. For instance, there is a tremendous demand for engineers in the intellectual property rights for doing patent work. They are the ones who go through the patent applications. The work involves analyzing scientific and technological inventions for the purposes of crafting legal protection for the same. This work needs to be done by those with technological skills and experience.

There is one message that I would like to give for the young lawyers that who all are planning to enter the industry now, at this point of time when the LPO market is coming up, they will be the ones who will benefit when the industry booms at its best.