Comments on: Financial Fallout: Ashurst Results, BLP Redundancies, Buss Murton CVA Success and Pinsents OUTSOURCING

By: Clifford Chance offshoring reduces client costs by almost 20% | Solicitr

Clifford Chance offshoring reduces client costs by almost 20% | Solicitr — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 08:23:55 +0000

[...] work including Lovells and Allen & Overy. Pinsent Masons and Simmons & Simmons went a step further with plans to instruct agency lawyers in low-cost [...]

By: The Week: Clients Forcing Outsourcing, Speeding Schadenfreude and Drinking Dont’s | Solicitr

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 10:22:25 +0000

[...] big news in law this week was Pinsent’s outsourcing of litigation work to South Africa. Following Rio Tinto’s decision to directly outsource work [...]

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:57:24 +0000

In the short term this will maintain profits by keeping the work flow. In the long run though there will be a smaller pool of junior lawyers from which firms can generate the current level of profits and from which to choose decent partners.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:23:05 +0000

Low cost does not mean low quality. Look at the profit margins of firms – they are still pretty outrageous even in a recession. Outsourcing is just one of a number of things forcing a correction. These are the market forces that have been unleashed by globalisation and deregulation. Profit margins could suffer considerably before quality was reduced, it just means partners would have to get used to charging less to compete with foreign competition or, over time, be put out of business.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:17:25 +0000

As my old man says of construction services, these days they do it for nothing and they do it badly. Law firms are just one in a long line of businesses to go down this road. Everything is cost driven now.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:12:00 +0000

heard of e-mail?

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:10:55 +0000

Low cost will result in low quality. How can work be effectively monitored from a distance and how can quality issues arising from different cultures be controlled? Bad move by Pinsents. It might grab client pleasing headlines now but they will suffer in the long run.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:07:14 +0000

Is this what you call a perfect storm? Economic crisis forces cost cutting, deregulation on the horizon spells new competition and the seal being broke on outsourcing…

By: emma

emma — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:58:41 +0000

This just makes me depressed. It is bad enough having worked so hard through university and sucked up huge debts to see jobs disappearing before my eyes. The short-term prospects were terrible and now long-term prospects look shaky if other firms follow Pinsents lead.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:56:17 +0000

Outsourcing will put paid to the outrageous profit margins that partners have managed to protect for so long by using the leveraged pyramid model. The Earth really is Flat.