The range and types of IP and legal outsourcing solutions have expanded rapidly in recent years, offering businesses a wider choice of services and delivery models. But the choice of when to use the services of an IP law firm or those of alternative legal service providers isn't always clear.
Businesses rely on law firms for advice on legal rights and responsibilities or representation in the event of a civil or criminal case, business transaction or other legal matters. An alternative legal service provider offers specialised services in high-demand legal fields that support the legal needs of their clients, such as discovery and e-discovery, document review, IP management, and other processes that may be time-consuming for in-house staff.
In general, IP law firms provide vital legal support, while legal service providers can help manage routine or administrative tasks that are costly in time, money and resources if charged by the hour. Of course, these days, many IP law firms also provide these same outsourced services at fixed fee rates, either in-house or via an agreement or partnership with a legal service provider.
5 key benefits of IP and legal outsourcing solutions
1. Specialised Knowledge
Depending on the size of the law firm and its network, it may be able to provide legal support across a wide range of areas or geographies. For areas that it does not cover, however, outsourcing work to a legal services provider ensures access to specialised resources that may not be otherwise available.
For instance, if a business is going through a merger or acquisition process, it's important to work with a partner that can support time-consuming due diligence processes cost-effectively. Whether a law firm or a legal service provider, the right partner will have unique expertise and specialist tools to carry out these processes with a tailored approach quickly and effectively.
2. Flexibility
Using an established law firm can provide a business with personalised and consistent legal support on a day-to-day basis. However, when a more flexible approach is required to carry out a short-term or unique project, they also need to be flexible enough to help you meet more specific requirements. If the expertise doesn't exist within the firm, working with a legal service provider can offer rapid access to in-house experts and tools that provide granular support for different services.
For example, specialist tools such as trademark search and watch platforms can be costly for a law firm to build and maintain, so businesses will either go direct to those alternative providers or choose a law firm that already uses its platform.
3. Speed
While a law firm can provide a high level of support for day-to-day legal processes, an unexpected, urgent or ad hoc project can create challenges for even the largest of law firms. Determining project requirements, finding resources and delivering the best results can cause a team to become overwhelmed. By working with a legal service provider, law firms and businesses can rest assured that they have access to specialist legal support for unforeseen situations without committing to the long-term costs of onboarding a full-time, in-house team.
In the case of trademark filings and trademark renewals, a missed deadline or an application error will have negative financial and legal implications for your business. For these types of scenarios, it’s vital that your business has access to a flexible service that can quickly assess your needs and deliver the best possible outcome.
4. Extended Network
Dealing with a local law firm can be advantageous for multiple reasons: proximity to your legal representatives, an understanding of the legal challenges a business must deal with locally, and access to other legal resources on a local level.
When a business seeks to expand its operations, a more connected firm can support that growth by providing market-ready tools as well as access to the extended network of that service provider, including law firms, legal service providers and other professionals. In this way, a business can access expertise and resources that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive.
If your business is entering a new market and requires the knowledge of local market experts, it is advantageous to work with a multinational firm since it can provide you with specialised advice and access to resources in individual jurisdictions. This is especially helpful for businesses that want to control costs on new market ventures.
5. Bespoke Solutions
Given that alternative legal services providers are newer and more specialist than law firms, they can deliver solutions with a tailor-made approach. However, the same may also apply to your current IP law firm. Whoever you partner with, ensure they can work with your business to develop an end-to-end solution that is flexible, cost-effective and does not compromise on quality.
Depending on your legal requirements, choosing between a law firm or legal service provider can vary between different projects and clients, so it’s important to consider different providers to assess what works best. In many cases, a law firm and a legal service provider can work hand-in-hand to provide ancillary services that complement their legal offering (as is the case for Novagraaf and Questel, for example).
If you’re considering an alternative legal services provider for certain projects, contact our team, and we’ll be happy to answer your queries.
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