We are all familiar with the traditional path legal services has taken. Most admitted attorneys and advocates either venture into practice (either for the state or in private capacities) or join roles as legal advisors in public or private entities. A (not so) new trend has, however, provided companies with an alternative to the way they have done business. The alternative, in Inlexso (Pty) Ltd’s (“Inlexso”) case, has been to provide legal services on an outsourced basis – something we have been doing since 1999. First as CLS Consulting Services (Pty) Ltd, then as Inlexso (Pty) Ltd (when becoming part of the Inlexso Group of companies) and recently re-branded as Inlexso (part of the NEXTEC Group of companies). This speaks of our wealth of knowledge in this field. But what are outsourced legal services and what makes us as Inlexso different?
Outsourced legal services are not necessarily better than law firms (although we provide specialized legal services not necessarily available at law firms), but rather that we provide an alternative. There are two options for providing outsourced legal services. The one being an on-demand ad hoc model and the other a so-called “outsourced in-house legal advisors” who work on a retainer basis. Both options provide clients with a lower cost model as consultancies provide a saving on overheads. It is also possible to monitor the services of consultancies. Something that proves to be more difficult for in-house legal advisors. Clients may outsource specific tailored work and keep reserved work, such as litigation, for law firms.
A further benefit of using a consultancy such as Inlexso, is embedded in our logo, “Innovative Legal Solutions”. We look for alternative ways of providing legal services by utilizing the most recent trends in the legal technology field. We thereby also bring down the cost for a company by hosting these services ourselves. Apart from the cost, we keep up with the growing and moving market. Why do I say this? Companies’ expectations of legal services have evolved. Companies now expect integrated advice beyond legal and across borders. Companies also expect their legal advisors to look for better, more relevant technologies in the legal space available in an integrated platform.
The demand for alternative or non-traditional legal service providers has increased significantly. Specifically an increase was noted in the Regulatory Compliance field (49%). Mergers and Acquisitions have increased with 42% and Litigation with 39%. This is according to an independent research study commissioned by Deloitte Legal and published in the report: Future Trends for Legal Services (Global research study) – June 2016 (“the Report”). The potential for alternative sourcing proved, according to the Report, to be high in the fields of Contracts and Transactions (due diligence and contract management), Corporate Governance, Intellectual Property, Litigation (discovery services, e-discovery and database creation and management), Regulatory and Compliance as well as Support Services (research, document management, legal billing services and paralegal and secretarial services).
If one tries to look into the future, it is evident that legal services should not only transform, but should, in actual fact, be the trendsetters as business leaders in utilizing a transformative sourcing approach by building predictive technologies and tools to enhance legal processes. This is where Inlexso stands out from the rest. This approach provides an alternative to the costly forms of human labour by employing machine learning.
The greatest benefit for companies, apart from the cost saving, is the assertiveness and attention to detail consultancies provide. Attention is paid to each specific client which guarantees a quick turn-around time with the quality expected from a legal services provider, protected by Professional Indemnity Insurance.
The question then beckons: why choose an outsourced alternative? The answer is simple: we provide quality legal services which manages our clients’ expectations using innovative legal solutions in a cost effective manner.
Lydia le Roux
Legal Advisor
References:
Majoko, T. (9 February 2017). The Blog: Legal Consultants: What We Can Do To Help You. TheHuffingtonPost ZA Edition. Retrieved 24 January 2019 from https://www.huffingtonpost.co.za/tiyani-majoko/legal-consultants-what-we-can-do-to-help-you_a_21709481/
Deloitte Legal Report: A changing world requires a new approach to law. Retrieved 22 January 2019 from https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/pages/legal/articles/legal-management-consulting-approach.html
Deloitte Legal Global Research Study: Future Trends for Legal Services. Retrieved 22 January 2019 from https://www2.deloitte.com/za/en/pages/legal/articles/deloitte-future-trends-for-legal-services.html
August 19, 2024
