Posts Tagged ‘small firm practitioners’

Outsource to Contract Lawyer to Deal with Layoffs

February 11th, 2010

By Mark Schecter | No Comments »

If you follow the local and national news, you are aware of the US economy and rising unemployment rate. It’s difficult to ignore the dismal news as the topic is frequently covered in all areas of the media, from morning and afternoon talk shows, to radio and newspaper ads.

As a business owner, you constantly struggle with the thought of cutting back your costs and budget, and the possibility of having to lay off employees and add to the rising unemployment rate. But the fact remains, you are responsible for finding ways to keep your company viable while you deal with the current crisis. That means in many companies, layoffs are inevitable.

While you work hard to cut your budget and control your costs to deal with the business losses you’ve experienced, you may find you’re forced to downsize the number of employees in your company.

With that said, it’s not always simple to determine who will be laid off. While you may be able to fade out certain positions, you’ll find there are others you cannot afford to dissolve.

For instance, it may not be a good idea to completely fade out the legal services your in-house attorney provides to protect your company. In fact, it may be an absolute wrong decision as claims of wrongful termination and other employment disputes tend to increase when layoffs occur.

So, what can you do?

You can outsource to a local contract attorney many of the same legal services an in-house attorney offers. Does this mean you must completely dissolve your company’s legal department? No. But it does mean a contract lawyer can prevent you from having to hire more salaried in-house attorneys and support staff.

Although much of the news we hear focus on the loss of jobs once held by middle Americans, there are other industries that are often overlooked. The legal industry has been hard hit by the economy. It was already heavily saturated and very competitive, and the economy has only exacerbated that reality.

Now, instead of hiring more in-house salaried lawyers, many corporations hire contract attorneys to provide legal services they need. In many instances, a lawyer working on a contract basis has the same (and sometimes more) education and work experience as the typical in-house attorney.

Has your company considered outsourcing to fill in-house attorney positions following layoffs?

http://www.schecterlaw.com/litigationblog/legal-services-local-corporate-attorneys-offer

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Posted in Corporate Outsourcing, Outsourcing Trends, South Florida | No Comments »

Why Corporations Should Outsource to Small Firm Attorneys

January 14th, 2010

By Mark Schecter | 1 Comment »

Outsourcing legal services to small firm attorneys is quickly becoming a trend among large and small corporations. As they face the pressure to cut their budgets, reduce their spending, and in some instances, completely dissolve their law departments, corporations are looking for ways to remain efficient.

Law departments are under-staffed, and there is no capital in the budget to cover hiring and retaining in-house counsel. Corporations are finding that they can effectively manage their workloads and reduce their operating costs when they outsource legal services to small firm attorneys.

There are several reasons corporations choose to go the outsourcing route, below are just a few:

Work Closely with the Senior Partner

More often than not, when you outsource legal services to a small firm you get to deal directly with the senior partner. You’re not forced to communicate solely with associates, paralegals or other support staff when your matter requires the attention of a seasoned attorney.

Smaller, More Manageable Workloads

Lawyers in large law firms often are responsible for more cases than they can comfortably handle. Their large workloads can be attributed in large part to under-staffing caused by massive layoffs over the past couple of years. In some large firms, associate attorneys are forced to work on legal matters that generally require a senior partner’s attention.

In contrast, small firm attorneys are typically responsible for much smaller workloads when compared to the large firms. Because they aren’t stretched as thin, small firm attorneys tend to have more manageable workloads, and can devote the time and senior-level attention your legal matters require.

Access to Associates, Paralegals and other support staff

Unbeknownst to some, most small firm attorneys do not work alone. Many have in-house associates, paralegals and other support staff that assist them with their clients’ legal matters. Thus, when you outsource to a small firm attorney, you get access to associates and paralegals without having to hire additional staff. This also means you can relax knowing your small firm attorney has the support needed to provide effective legal services to your corporation.

Reduce Legal Spending and Control Costs

Nowadays, most corporations are dealing with budget and spending concerns in one way or another. They are outsourcing to small firm attorneys at more competitive hourly and flat rates in order to reduce legal spending and control costs. Because small firms generally have lower overhead and aren’t over-burdened by the costs associated with retaining large staff, they can operate for far less than large firms. This savings can then be passed on to their clients in the form of affordable hourly rates.

The next time your corporation considers outsourcing to outside counsel, you may want to consider small firm attorneys as they tend to have manageable workloads, can devote adequate attention to your legal matter, and reduce your legal spending in the process.

Is your corporate law department under pressure to reduce legal spending and control costs? How are you managing?

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Posted in Corporate Outsourcing, Outsourcing Trends, Small Firm Attorney | 1 Comment »

Florida Corporations Outsourcing to Small Firms?

January 4th, 2010

By Mark Schecter | No Comments »

Over the past couple of years, the legal industry has suffered its share from the ailing economy, and is now facing the repercussions of massive layoffs, under-staffing and budget cuts. The same is true for large and small corporations in Florida as they are also feeling the economic crunch, and are forced to cut back or totally dissolve their legal departments.

As we end 2009 and enter a new year, the legal industry is experiencing ongoing changes and shifts in thinking as new trends in outsourcing begin to surface. Many corporations and legal departments are outsourcing various legal services to solo and small firm practitioners within the boundaries of the United States.

Fulbright Study: Corporate Attorneys are Outsourcing

In an earlier post, we discussed the 2009 Fulbright Study in which corporate attorneys in many countries were surveyed on topics affecting legal departments, and the manner in which they provide legal services.

Amongst other things, the survey results revealed that many of the corporate attorneys are relying on outside counsel, often solo and small firm practitioners, to provide the same legal services in-house attorneys would generally handle.

Approximately 76% of the corporate attorneys indicate their companies outsource certain tasks to outside counsel. And, when asked to rate their satisfaction with the outside counsel’s ability to meet their needs, nearly 90% indicate they are satisfied with the services provided by outside counsel.

Reasons Corporations Outsource to Small Firm Practitioners

Outsourcing is an attractive option for corporations that are trying to reduce their costs, control their spending, and continue to stay on top of their massive workloads. There are several reasons corporations turn to outsourcing. I will address a couple of the reasons below:

  • Small firm practitioners tend to have lower overhead costs and can afford to offer their services at competitive rates; while large firms are often forced to set their hourly rates according to their monthly costs, expenses and total overhead.
  • In many instances, solo and small firm practitioners provide higher quality work product and faster turnaround times as they tend to juggle fewer legal matters than typical large firms.
  • A corporation’s legal department can more accurately estimate their budgets and control legal spending when they outsource to small firm practitioners that offer flat rate and other alternative fee arrangements.

Obviously, the above list of reasons corporations choose to outsource is not an exhaustive list. You can expect more discussions on outsourcing and small firm practitioners in the weeks to come.

In the meantime, I’d like to hear from you.

Are you a corporation considering (or currently) outsourcing to a solo or small firm practitioner, or are you a practitioner providing legal services to large corporations? How is it working for your corporation or small firm?

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Posted in Corporate Counsel, Corporate Outsourcing, Outsourcing Trends, business | No Comments »