Legal Process Outsourcing Market Analysis By Location (Offshore Outsourcing, On-Shore Outsourcing), By Service (Review and Management, Compliance Assistance, e-Discovery, Litigation Support, Patent Support) And Segment Forecasts, 2018 - 2024

Industry Insights

The global legal process outsourcing market size was valued at USD 2.35 billion in 2015. The need for the effective utilization of resources is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the LPO industry.

Canada Legal Process Outsourcing market by service, 2014 - 2024 (USD Million)

LPO in countries such as India offers quantifiable benefits, which include the availability of several English speaking lawyers whose pay rates are considerably lower than those of their U.S. counterparts. Experience and high-level competency of an LPO considerably improves the relationship with clients and enhances work output. There is an increasing number of prominent LPO players emerging in countries outside India, such as South Africa, the Philippines, Malaysia, the Caribbean islands, and Singapore.

Overcoming constraints with regard to scalability has been the primary challenge faced by geographies outside India, as a result of which they have been slower in securing a grip on the legal process outsourcing industry. Regulatory policies differ on a regional level, which is viewed as a barrier by cautious organizations considering outsourcing of legal services.

Location Insights

On-shore outsourcing is gaining prominence, accounting for over 20% industry share in 2015. This can be attributed to the growing perception among law firms that these service providers are better equipped than their offshore counterparts. Additional benefits, such as better control over operations, enhanced data security, shared regulatory framework, and sophisticated service delivery models, are expected to impact the industry for on-shore LPO providers favorably.

On-shore outsourcing is a lucrative option for organizations that prefer collaborating with companies within the same country. Subcontracting in the same country also provides advantages such as a shared regulatory framework.

Services Insights

e-discovery held the largest revenue share of over 24.5% in 2015 and primarily involves document review. Electronic documents contain anenormous amount of data and metadata, due to which identification and production of this information through outsourcing proves economical and profitable for law firms. e-discovery has become an essential means for organizations that aim to respond to the regulatory, legal, and investigational requirements.

Global Legal Process Outsourcing market by location, 2015

Patent support has been gaining popularity as an outsourced service, particularly in India. It includes patentability assessment, illustration, infringement analysis, and patent mining, which broadly represent the Intellectual Property Asset Management (IPAM). Outsourcing qualitative activities, including proofreading and IP litigation, increasingly benefits large organizations by freeing up their employees to focus on high-value tasks.

Regional Insights

The Asia Pacific regional legal process outsourcing market accounted for over 65% share in 2015. India, China, and the Philippines have positioned themselves as preferred destinations for law outsourcing over a period of time on account of the availability of cheaper and proficient lawyers in these countries. South Africa has emerged as a strong LPO destination, especially with UK clients,owing to the country’s favorable time zone, growing cultural affinity, and a maturing vendor landscape.

A substantial proportion of the revenue generated in offshore sites of the Philippines, South Africa, and India originates from legal firms in established markets of the UK and the U.S.Increasing emphasis on the provision of law services is expected to augment demand in the Asia Pacific region over the next eight years. Initially, the legal outsourcing sector in India was only restricted to transactional services; however, with high-end tasks and increasing maturity, legal research and document analysis are being outsourced in the country.

Competitive Insights

The key industry competitors include UnitedLex Corporation, Integreon, Inc., Elevate Services Inc., Pangea3 LLC, and Axiom Law, among others.Various LPO providers are increasingly focusing on higher-value services; for instance, supporting compliance management.Notable players, such as QuisLex Inc., Mindcrest Inc., Pangea3, Clutch Group, and UnitedLex, have been expanding their offerings beyond regulatory and litigation investigation support services to contract management and other corporate services.

Report Scope

Segments Covered in the Report

This report forecasts revenue growth and provides an analysis of the latest trends in each of the sub-segments from 2014 to 2024. For the purpose of this study, Grand View Research has segmented the legal process outsourcing market on the basis of location, services, and region:

• Location Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  • Offshore outsourcing

  • On-shore outsourcing

• Services Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  • Contract drafting

  • Review and management

  • Compliance assistance

  • E-discovery

  • Litigation support

  • Patent support

  • Others

• Regional Outlook (Revenue, USD Million; 2014 - 2024)

  • North America

    • U.S.

    • Canada

    • Mexico

  • Europe

    • Germany

    • UK

  • Asia Pacific

    • China

    • India

    • Philippines

  • Latin America

    • MEA