ALSP: Global Trend or Industry Shift?
| Autor | Jackie Donner |
| Cargo | CO-founder & CEO Lawflex |
| Páginas | 8-9 |
ALSP: Global Trend or Industry Shift?
At times, portions of the legal community
refer to the ALSP (Alternative Legal Service
Provider) sector as a mere ‘trend’ waltzing its
way through the industry. This sentiment is
usually popular with those who identify with
so called “TradLaw”, or “Traditional Law”—
favouring the somewhat static and steady
nature behind law, and the profession itself.
So it begs the question; what constitutes a
trend?
Merriam-Webster defines it as a “current
style or preference”, insinuating of course that
trends do not necessarily indicate a long
lasting or permanent change. But then, there
is a different definition of trends that I
personally favour over the former; “the
general movement over time of a statistically
detectable change”.
ALSPs are the future. Despite what some
Traditionalists might say, the ALSP sector,
particularly ones that deal in staffing and
legal-tech, are anything but ephemeral. They
are here to stay. There has been a very
tangible shift in recent years, a “general
movement” shall we say, towards flexibility
and efficiency in the legal industry. This shift
is not limited to one geographic area, once
again contradicting the notion that this
change might just be a current fad destined
to fade.
Professor of Management Studies at the
University of Oxford, Mari Sako observed that,
“Not surprisingly, we are seeing different
levels of adoption of ALSPs in different
geographies,”. As of this moment, the ALSP
market has bled “across all geographies”, the
expansion of which has been expedited due
to “COVID-19 pandemic-related pressures for
cost efficiency.”. The global growth of the
ALSP market has been most prevalent in
Australia, the U.S., Canada, and the UK, with
Australia in particular engaging in the
broadest range of ALSP services.
In the U.S., law firms typically turn to
ALSPs for one of three reasons; electronic
discovery, legal research, and
litigation/investigation support. And, as of
2020, 79% of U.S. law firms and 71% of US
corporations use their services. Meanwhile,
the UK is also exhibiting a steady growth
within its ALSP sector; with BigFour giant
PwC Legal UK doubling its revenue in the last
five years to £100m and KPMG Law’s UK arm
almost quadrupling it, from £12m to £45m.
Beyond the scope of the Anglo-Saxon space,
ALSPs have penetrated global markets (thanks to
pandemic pressures to innovate and the ongoing
process of globalization). One such market is
Spain, where a 2021 Chambers & Partners report
found an allyship forming between law firms and
ALSPs. An “active collaboration” born out of a
need to unload and outsource tasks from point A
(law firm) to point B (ALSP) became increasingly
popular. What’s more is that the Spanish market
perfectly highlights how ALSPs are defying the
antiquated ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to legal
services.
Jackie Donner
CO-founder & CEO Lawflex
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