Eighty-Seven Percent of In-House Counsel Find it Difficult to Manage Legal Risk & Data, According to New Legal Business/Clutch Group Survey

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“Our survey demonstrates the tremendous challenges and pressure facing today’s in-house counsel,” said Alex Novarese, Editor-in-Chief at Legal Business.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) February 06, 2014

Eighty-seven percent of surveyed in-house counsel say it is more difficult to manage legal risks related to company data compared to five years ago, according to a new survey by Legal Business, a UK-based publication which reaches legal professionals globally and Clutch Group, an organization dedicated to providing the professional services for law. Furthermore, 69% of respondents say they have seen an increase in spending on managing legal risk and compliance over the last five years.

“Our survey demonstrates the tremendous challenges and pressure facing today’s in-house counsel,” said Alex Novarese, Editor-in-Chief at Legal Business. “From rising costs to exponential growths in data, in-house counsel are looking for efficient and cost-effective strategies to manage these new realities.”

The survey also reveals that alternative legal providers, such as LPOs, have a large role to play in helping companies tackle large data and help companies mitigate risk. Findings include the following:

•     80% of respondents say they expect to see the LPO industry expand and improve its services over the next five years.
•     58% of respondents say that LPOs and law firms need to work together on compliance and risk matters.    
•     37% of in-house lawyers say that LPOs are better equipped than law firms to use advanced technology and to use data and risk analytics

“There is clearly a demand from in-house counsel for technology-based solutions to solve the dramatic increase in costs,” said Varun Mehta, Vice President at Clutch. “Alternative legal providers and LPOs will have to continually evolve, develop breakthrough technology legal solutions, and provide a litany of new services to meet the changing demands being place on in-house counsel.”

“If alternative providers can satisfy blue-chip clients – and a sizeable group of clients report that they do – they will keep moving up the value chain,” adds Mr. Novarese.

Other important survey results include:

•     In-house counsel are using LPOs primarily for investigations and due diligence exercises; general litigation support and eDiscovery are close seconds.
•     The UK LPO market is less developed than the US: 38% of UK-based respondents say they have used LPOs for legal work, compared to 50% in the US.
•     An increase in the level of civil litigation is seen as the biggest driver behind rising legal costs. Greater scrutiny from regulators is close behind.

An in-depth look at the survey results and interviews with top general counsel will be published on Wednesday, February 5th, in an exclusive report in Legal Business.

The survey, titled “Future of Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO),” launched in December in partnership with Clutch Group, ran for two weeks and received responses from over 200 senior in-house lawyers in the UK, Asia, and the US.

About Legal Business
Legal Business is the market-leading glossy monthly magazine for the UK and global legal market. Published 10 times a year, the magazine reaches thousands of readers across the UK and in the key financial centres of Europe, Asia and the US. Since its 1990 launch, Legal Business has always been a must-read publication – it constantly covers the key issues facing commercial law firms with more depth than any other title available in the market. From management to mergers, strategy and speculation, Legal Business is the magazine senior professionals rely upon for gauging the effectiveness of their firm and their rivals in the legal market and the wider business community.

About Clutch Group
Founded in 2005 by top attorneys from leading firms and business process pioneers, Clutch Group has grown to a team of legal, technology and process experts in five offices across three continents. Clutch was built from the ground up to help General Counsels more effectively manage problems within Fortune 500 companies. Clutch combines its expertise in harnessing technology, implementing process and focusing on fact development to deliver risk-measured, cost-optimized solutions for clients. Clutch Group has been consistently ranked as a top provider by industry research as well as client satisfaction since its inception and has been recognized by industry authorities including the New York Law Journal, Chambers Global, Frost & Sullivan, the Black Book of Outsourcing and Dun & Bradstreet. For more information, visit http://www.clutchgroup.com.

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