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Leeanne Whaley, Transformation Director, Legal & Co Sec, at BT, says that the company has been on a journey looking at opportunities to do work differently, a large part of which is “understanding the different types of legal support our business needs” and then deciding who is best placed to do each different type of work. Some of this work requires an in-house lawyer, whereas other legal tasks can be contracted out to the most appropriate legal services provider such as Alternative Legal Service Providers (ALSPs).

Leeanne says that BT are “plugged into all of the right networks with the likes of the Big Four” and notes that the Big Four have “made some incredibly large steps” in the arena of outsourced legal work. Watch this short video with Leeane as she explains the approach of BT to outsourcing legal work.

Leeanne notes that the Big Four are “incredibly well placed to do a lot of the volume, less complex work that a tech solution can help with.” However, she thinks that one of the drawbacks to a process driven approach provided by the Big Four and ALSPs is where certain work “requires a more intelligent considered approach” as opposed to more repetitive and routine methods.

One of the main pitfalls to avoid when outsourcing legal work is opening up the business to extra risk. She says: “We’re being asked to look at our cost base and to deliver really good legal support for our business. But where we have challenges in terms of cost, we have to be really considered about how to manage that cost without increasing risk.”

But ultimately Leeanne believes the extra options provided by the rise of ALSPs and the arrival of the Big Four in the legal services arena are a positive development: “Having a choice allows us to manage our costs more effectively but also ensures we’re getting the right legal support at the right time.”

What are the benefits of using ALSPs?

ALSPs have been going from strength to strength in recent years, with the market estimated to have , an increase of 30% over the previous two years. A couple of defining features of ALSPs are:

• Technology - technology driven processes and use of legal software are core to ALSPs.

• Specialisation - ALSPs often focus on specific legal services and aim to optimise efficiency.

The main benefits of using ALSPs include:

• Increased efficiency in performing niche legal tasks

• More innovative and process-driven services

• Reduced costs

How are organisations benefiting from using the Big Four for legal services?

There has been a lot of debate recently about the Big Four accountancy firms (EY, KPMG, PwC and Deloitte) expanding into the legal services arena. A recent report from ��˾����ҹ���� assesses how the Big Four are shaking up the legal services market, together with ALSPs, and how these newcomers are also prompting traditional firms to evolve their processes.

Since the Big Four combine technology and specialisation to handle high-volume, low-value legal work at a much lower cost, they can be an attractive option for in-house legal teams who have large scale projects.

Read more about how the Big Four are reshaping the future of legal services.

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