NewFebruary 20, 2010 – With all the news about legal process outsourcing, do US and UK law firms need a strategy or position on legal outsourcing? That’s the question Integreon’s Ron Friedmann addresses in his 20 Feb 2010 article, Law Firms Now Outsourcers?, at LLRX.com. In it, he examines a recent outsourcing announcement by Eversheds and a recent LPO article by two Mayer Brown lawyers. He concludes that “clients want lower legal costs and it’s clear that shifting work location and improving processes achieve that result” so firms should at least be receptive to working with legal outsourcers.
NewFebruary 18, 2010 – LLRX.com recently published a white paper, Ethics of Legal Outsourcing(February 14, 2010), authored by Integreon’s Mark Ross. The paper examines the ethical and practical realities of legal process outsourcing in the US and UK, particularly with regard to the offshoring of core legal and support services to countries such as India, South Africa and The Philippines. Included are citations of key bar and bar regulatory authority opinions on legal outsourcing, such as from the American Bar Association, which provide guidance on acceptable practices for firms that wish to ethically utilize outsourcing strategies to enhance value for their clients. Ross discusses such pertinent topics as:
Avoiding aiding and abetting the unauthorized practice of law
Competent representation
The duty to disclose
Protecting client confidences and secrets
Avoiding conflicts of interest
Billing for outsourced legal support
Malpractice insurance and LPO errors and omissions
Export control regulations
UK specific concerns, including data protection export issues
NewJanuary 29, 2010 – Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (”Pillsbury”) in a press release (January 29, 2010), Pillsbury Launches PEARL to Contain Companies’ Litigation Costs and Improve Results, has announced the launch of PEARL (Pillsbury’s E-discovery Alliance of Resource Leaders). PEARL is a first-of-its-kind, strategic alliance of leading e-discovery vendors, consultants, technicians, translators, processors and first-tier review firms with the resources needed to cost-effectively complete any e-discovery project, in any language, anywhere in the world. Pillsbury and its Resource Leaders - Protiviti Inc., Integreon, ACT Litigation Services, Inc., Discovery Services LLC, and TransPerfect Legal Solutions - are addressing the common problems encountered across the spectrum of e-discovery activities, from identification and collection through processing, review, translation, production and certification. The systematic approach of PEARL leverages the respective strengths and capabilities of each alliance provider, and under Pillsbury’s clear legal guidance, offers a team of experts with diverse capabilities who collaborate to deliver efficient, streamlined results at per-page or per-gigabyte rates that create significant costs savings for clients regardless of size, scope of inquiry or location. Integreon is pleased to be part of this innovative initiative. For more information about PEARL or learn how it benefits companies, visit www.pillsburylaw.com/PEARL.
NewJanuary 27, 2010 – The Wall Street Journal profiles Colin Gounden, now Integreon’s Chief Marketing Officer, in How I…Conquered India’s Infrastructure. Gounden, founder and CEO of Grail Research in Cambridge, Mass., describes how he expanded his company into India and the steps he took to open an office in New Delhi. The increased productivity and success of his company helped to pave the way for the firm’s subsequent acquisition by Integreon in late 2009. Liam Brown, Integreon’s CEO, comments in the company’s press release that the acquisition, “accelerates the expansion of our business intelligence, research and analytics business with high-end, custom market research. With the addition of Grail’s capabilities, Integreon can meet the most demanding global research requirements of our investment banking, law firm and corporate clients on an enterprise basis.”
NewJanuary 5, 2010 – TechLaw Solutions e-Discovery Zone provides a collection of educational resources on the e-Discovery and litigation process. Hosted by e-Discovery experts Tom O’Connor, Founder of LEDI’s Gulf Coast Legal Technology Center (GLTC), and Browning Marean, Partner at DLA Piper, e-Discovery Zone routinely interviews a variety of guests, including industry experts, counsel, attorneys, and judges. e-Discovery Zone recently recorded two audiocast sessions with Ron Friedmann (Integreon’s SVP of Marketing and Strategic Legal Technology Blogger), who shares his views on legal process outsourcing (LPO) in the US & UK, knowledge management, e-discovery services and the software as a service (SaaS) model, and assessing total project cost.
NewDecember 11, 2009 – LegalWeek reports in Beachcroft and TLT sign up to share outsourced library services with OC (December 8, 2009) that UK law firms Beachcroft LLP and TLT LLP are to join Osborne Clarke in outsourcing their entire library services in an agreement with Integreon. All three firms will use Integreon’s Bristol (UK) centre - creating the first shared information centre in the UK legal sector. Integreon will provide the firms with a range of services that include a central enquiries desk, legal and business research, hard copy and journal management, and information supplier management and purchasing. The article also indicates that eleven library staff will join the shared centre from Beachcroft and TLT, with no job cuts resulting from the outsourcing. In a separate press release, Integreon’s John Croft states that the firms can expect to see, “cost savings of 20 to 30 percent compared to traditional in-house based library services.” Ideal for law firms and corporate legal departments, a similar service may also be launched in the US, according to the release.
NewDecember 1, 2009 – A flurry of recent announcements by large UK law firms adopting legal process outsourcing (LPO) has gotten the attention of Bloomberg UTV, a Bloomberg Television Network channel in India. A recent UTV Business 360 news program (November 24, 2009) reviews the LPO trend and features interviews with several industry experts including Integreon’s Lokendra Tomar, COO for Asia-Pacific.
Also notable last week: Integreon was recognized as among 2009’s “Best Overall LPO” providers in the India Business Law Journal’s LPO Intelligence Report (November 2009; Subscription Required).
Integreon has been identified in multiple news reports recently in connection with several UK law firms that have now gone on record as adopters of LPO, including Allen & Overy, Lovells, Simmons & Simmons, and Osborne-Clarke.
NewNovember 23, 2009 – Integreon’s recent acquisition of Grail Research has received considerable attention from international news media. Over 50 news sites and publications from around the world have picked up on the announcement from the Los Angeles-based global provider of knowledge and legal process outsourcing solutions. In the company’s press release (Nov. 10, 2009), Integreon CEO Liam Brown states that the “acquisition accelerates the expansion of our business intelligence, research and analytics business with high-end, custom market research for our investment banking, law firm and corporate clients.” Continue reading …
NewNovember 19, 2009 – The Lawyer reports in A&O signs outsourcing deal with LPO provider Integreon (November 18, 2009) that law firm Allen & Overy (A&O) has become the first magic circle firm to outsource legal work, as an increasing number of UK firms embrace legal process outsourcing (LPO) in a bid to reduce their overheads. The article identifies Integreon as the firm’s LPO provider for outsourcing of basic litigation document review to teams in New York and Mumbai, in what could generate a 30-50 per cent cost saving. A&O litigation support specialist Vince Neicho is cited, saying, “We put together a suite of options [for clients] including offshore outsourcing, a reduced paralegal rate in our London office and the [improved] use of technology.”
The news about A&O’s LPO move first broke during Centaur’s legal process outsourcing (LPO) conference, hosted by The Lawyer. John Croft, Integreon’s President of Global Sales, who attended, shares his comments and observations from the conference in our recent blog post, LPO - No Longer a Case of ‘If’ but ‘When’. John’s post provides some additional examples of law firms and corporations that have recently adopted legal process outsourcing.
NewNovember 18, 2009 – The LPO market in India received a boost last week with the signing of the outsourcing agreement between the UK-based international firm, Simmons & Simmons and LPO leader, Integreon. Bar & Bench speaks to Mark Dawkins, Managing Partner at Simmons & Simmons and Lokendra Tomar, Chief of Operations of the Asia-Pacific arm of Integreon. While Mark Dawkins refused to be drawn on whether the firm has any India-specific expansion plans, Lokendra Tomar reveals Integreon’s plans to raise funds through private equity to further its expansion plans.