LPO – A Lucrative Career For Lawyers

Change is a word with which Mr. Barack Obama fought and won the US Presidential elections. CHANGE is a word with which Mr. Warren Buffet revolutionized investments from a small set up to a brand which demands respect. And believe it or not, CHANGE .is a word, which is all set to change the lifestyles of many law graduates in our country. Yes, I am talking about those legal professionals and law students who are thinking of shifting focus from the traditional law practice to a more lucrative corporate life style, which comes in the form of a new area called Legal Process Outsourcing. Gone are the days, when the first few years in a lawyer’s career were spent on daily duties like carrying out secretarial functions, maintaining case files, assisting in preparing a case, searching for case decisions, writing down minutes of a meeting with a client, or may be seeking adjournments in courts or signing affidavits. In today’s world, law graduates have great opportunities, and can certainly move beyond the shadows of their senior lawyers to make a great career for themselves in the booming LPO sector. LPO is the buzz word in today’s legal industry in India. Legal Process Outsourcing refers to the practice of a law firm or a corporation, obtaining legal support services from an outside law firm or a legal support services company. India has perhaps turned out to be the best offshore destination for legal support services from countries like USA, UK and Canada because of availability of skilled and good English speaking lawyers, cost advantage and favorable time zones. The Indian LPO industry has shown an unbelievable growth in the recent past and according to Forrester Research it is expected to reach more than $4 billion and create more than 79000 jobs by the year 2015. The nature of work outsourced and carried out by the LPOs in India can be classified under two heads namely : Quantitative or low skilled work and Qualitative or high end work. Broadly, across these two categories, it covers legal support work like litigation support, document review and management, legal research, contract management, intellectual property related work, paralegal support services, bankruptcy, immigration, etc. The LPO industry in India provides great job opportunities for lawyers. A young lawyer planning to enter the LPO industry has a number of advantages over a career in traditional law practice. Firstly, by working in LPOs, they are exposed to a wide range of international legal work. Secondly, they get an opportunity to work in a corporate environment with most LPOs providing employee centric facilities. Thirdly, LPOs serve to be a better salary start for lawyers than typical law firm practice. A very important advantage is that LPOs provide a great career path for lawyers, and with talented lawyers they offer a steep career growth in a short span of employment. To conclude, the nascent but growing LPO industry is bound to provide massive and great job opportunities for lawyers in our country and these job opportunities will be seen as a better option than traditional practice.