Has Atticus Finch arrived in LPOs

Has Atticus Finch arrived in LPOs?

They are rubbing shoulders with the Who’s who of the big law firms. They are now brandishing sharper, edgier and longer deals.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Lokendra Tomar, COO, Asia Pacific, Integreon

They are no more a side kick doing the ‘hand-me-down’ version of legal work for Corporates and legal eagles of the US and Europe. Instead they are slowly turning into the Man Friday. Watch them heading towards high-end legal genre with IP, patents, M&A work etc. and you can’t help asking, have the turned into the legal legend already?

Lokendra Tomar, COO, Asia Pacific of Integreon spoke to Pratima Harigunani of CyberMedia News

LPOs in India started with a not-so-bad first gear. How fast-and-furious has the ride been since?

Initially, LPOs were just beginning to develop but as we move ahead, we see more evidence of their maturity.

At Integreon, we can now cite examples like a seven year deal with a top UK Firm for a whopping $75 million contract that is almost a watershed deal in the LPO space. Another is with a US investment firm where we take over full research functions across their bases in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago.

How does the R word translate for a LPO? Do bankruptcy suits mean more business or is it the same impact that other industries are handling as the ripples spread wide?

The impact of today’s environment on law firms in mixed. More and more work will be outsourced but the difference to be seen is how companies in our industry will benefit. Some clients are going more aggressive than ever. Some are on the new ways of thinking on how to survive in a difficult time. The big thing is that outsourcing and not offshoring becomes key in today’s time. We can see new deal wins in both Indian and international markets.

Is it right that fragmentation of legal functions and opening up of standardized spectrum of legal space, would spell better signs for LPOs?

Yes, that is an emerging trend. The direction is towards two areas. One, how is billing changing with the clients. Second, how law firms are managing internal costs. The way low-end LPO and high-end LPO work will get in a new order henceforth will define new slices for LPOs.

What models and outsourcing patterns work in the legal industry, specially as this is one industry where money measures in billable hours as well as a full-client contract payment?

There are two formats. Law firms, that either, as you said, clock payments on hours or full value contract, can outsource in two ways. One is by sub-contracting. Or by paying fixed legal fees. Both models are in place. But what we will see more now is a tripartite relationship between clients, law firms and LPOs. Law firms can charge their clients at usual billing rates or take them into confidence about a tripartite format. The client gets the benefit of saving in legal fees. We will see this shift in US, UK law firms. They will stop the low-end commoditized work and move to mature models.

You have won two high-end deals yourself. What’s it like to work on the deal and client confidence both in the pre- and post-deal scenario?

Our motto has always been to be a trusted LPO rather than the largest LPO. These are not new clients but we have been working with them in the past. We invested in the trust factor, in the management team, in the IT infrastructure and complementary services like training etc. Investing in client comfort is essential more so with the next level of complex and proprietary solutions. It’s like the trust a doctor earns overtime that makes it hard to change him for another.

What’s happening on the niche side?

The contract value for a niche LPO is much smaller. Also in some situations they do not address the requirements of clients.

Is IP and Patent work on other industries like Pharma starting to show LPO money?

Yes, that is a good LPO area. But the biggest segment is still the litigation business. Meanwhile, e-business, analytics, contract management are coming up but they are not as big as litigation work yet.

©CIOL Bureau