Swashbuckling audacity in shaping the future or careless sacrifice for short term PEP gains? Only time will tell.

Last Friday CMS Cameron McKenna told staff that it had decided to outsource its entire support staff function after signing an agreement with Integreon. Nearly 200 Cameron staff may be employed by the outsourcing company, possibly within Cameron’s office space as part of a sub-letting deal. Camerons expect to save 10%-15% of costs through the arrangement.

The move is pretty “groundbreaking” as put by managing partner Duncan Weston. But it also has the potential to be morale busting at the same time. Rightly or wrongly it sends a clear signal to support staff that their work is considered a commodity and, perhaps worryingly for other staff, it shows an determination to wield the scalpel fairly dramatically when it comes to treatment of commoditised aspects of legal business.

On the other hand, if Camerons are right – it will bring them competitively advantageous efficiency savings and better support than a traditional back office.

One thing is for sure, the competitive landscape is changing. And if the likes of private equity firms enter the legal market following deregulation, they will have little hesitation in carving out costs where savings can be made.

So Camerons had better hope the controversey proves worth it – the proof of the pudding will be in the eating. All eyes will be on them to see if they make a success of it…or fall flat on their faces.