INTERVIEWS
really have got to question whether you have got the skills and experience internally and then that can be a great place to introduce a consultant. A lot of firms are increasing focus on particular sectors and types of clients and that is becoming much stronger – those firms are realising that if they can get a consultant to really advise them and get some external input they are able to properly understand what is happening in the market. How would you advise law firms wanting to invest in outsourcing services?
“People are starting to invest and go beyond just automation. It can be a daunting challenge as it is a bit of a leap into the unknown”
There are some big things that I would suggest that firms do – we go back to our first question; if we look at all of the things we do in a firm, whether they are done by people who we employ or they are done by third parties, we review whether we are getting the best service at the best price and whether we think they are things we should be doing ourselves or we should be buying from a third party outsourcer or subcontractor. For me, people present outsourcing as a sensitive decision – the best firms do it really well, they are constantly open to review and challenge themselves on the automatic assumption that they have to do it internally and I think firms needs to keep challenging themselves on that. The next step is, if you decide that you should be using outsourcing measures, then the question is, what are we trying to achieve? Only then do you look at who is available in the market and can meet your criteria. Then you have to have a really good process in place – set out a small number of things you want from that process. Try and understand the outsourcer’s motivation and business model – what is in it for them and understand how they make money from your contract so everyone understands what is in it for each party. Once you have outsourced, really think about how you keep the relationship working and strong.
steps or do you need to broaden out?’ There are lots of ways that firms can broaden out and that could be that firms take on non-executive directors who will have a totally different set of skills and experiences and could share some new insights. There are a lot of unknowns in the sector, such as in technology, and there are very few lawyers who are experts in them. If you are going to try and compete and deliver to your clients something that is a lot more 24/7 365, then you
Chris Bull
has a portfolio of Retained Advisory and NED roles within the legal sector.
CHRIS BULL Bio Chris is the founding Director of legal and professional services retained advisors Kingsmead Square and co-founder in 2018 of the Intuity Alliance, advising on strategy, operations and innovation via a portfolio of retained, interim and NED roles. One of the busiest speakers and writers on the business of law, Chris is a regular keynote presenter, producer, Chair and panellist at major conferences in Europe and the USA and author of a series of reports. He has been COO and Chief Executive of UK lawyers Osborne Clarke, COO with pioneering Alternative Legal Service firm Integreon and KPMG’s Ambassador for Professional Practices.
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