Utilize Legal Case Management Systems to Carry Out Legal Work in-House
Many corporate counsel are thinking about reversing their policy of outsourcing legal work because of the economic conditions. Financially, this makes sense: The Lawyer states that “magic circle” associates now receive more than partners were in 2005, whilst hourly rates for city law firms are now between £180 and £550 an hour: far exceeding the cost of an hour of legal work undertaken by in house lawyers.
Actually, of course, its not as simple as that: legal work is generally outsourced initially because of not having enough organizational capacity, or because cases are too complicated to be conducted in the time available by the in-house lawyers.
But handle the insourcing challenge properly and the outcomes can be very positive. At the Law Society’s inaugural In House Counsel event in 2010, there was a very intriguing exchange of views about “Ensuring effective use of legal resources and reducing costs”. A speaker was explaining the advantages of bringing work back in-house, saying that it let teams provide a good value service to their organizations, use their expert knowledge on a broader case load and handle the complex matters. The significance of this point should not be overlooked – intrigued staff are those who stick with your organization.
The process of bringing work back in house must be handled with care, though. You might be familiar with the Yerkes-Dodson law which says that above a certain level, the more pressure a person is subjected to the less well they perform.
So Should We Bring Legal Work In-house Or Not?
The Association of Corporate Counsel has announced it is one of the most considerable trends of the decade, implying that lots of businesses think it has much to offer. Legal case management software can really help free staff from background tasks and make the process of backsourcing less stressful.
Matter management software or case management systems can offer considerable advantages to in-house teams including:
- increased chance of handling more matters with the same resources
- integration of document management, e-mail, dates etc. so you never miss deadlines again
- enable home working if required
So join the trend and investigate case/matter management software today.