Simmons & Simmons signs up to outsourcing deal

INTERNATIONAL LAW firm Simmons & Simmons has signed a yearlong contract to outsource a range of lower-level, high-volume legal work to a facility in India.

The latest of a small number of law firms to openly embrace the legal processing outsourcing (LPO) model, the deal will encompass document production, document review, due diligence and legal research tasks, completed by an initial five-lawyer team based in Mumbai. Knowledge process outsourcing and LPO provider Integreon has selected the team, which can be increased as necessary to accommodate further growth and ensure flexibility.

Integreon estimates the arrangement will lead to cost savings of around 50 per cent for the firm, while Simmons managing partner Mark Dawkins said it was just “one step” on the firm’s road to giving greater value to clients.

“It is an explicit commitment in our strategy to be a firm that is embracing different ways of working,” Dawkins explained. “Our clients will appreciate the fact that we have taken measures to cut costs, but at the same time, continue to provide them with efficient and high quality services that can be adapted to their needs.”

John Croft, Integreon’s president of global sales and marketing, said the decision reflected a growing trend of law firms accepting the LPO model and the possibility of unbundling legal services into at least some constituent parts.

Other law firms to have sent limited legal work offshore include Clifford Chance and Pinsent Masons, with the latter now outsourcing early-stage litigation document review tasks to LPO provider Exigent in South Africa.

In June 2009, meanwhile, Rio Tinto managing attorney Leah Cooper announced the international mining business would be cutting its global legal budget by 20 per cent by working with LPO services provider CPA Global.

The move would allow the in-house team more time to work on legal matters that would otherwise be “sent to outside counsel at significant cost,” Cooper explained.

The Simmons & Simmons project is to be piloted from the firm’s London headquarters, but could be extended to further offices in the near future as demand dictates.