In the Media

Pinsent Masons boosts outsourcing trend with Krakow deal

PUBLISHED January 29, 2013
SHARE

Tuesday 29 January 2013 by John Hyde

City firm Pinsent Masons has become the latest law practice to outsource key services by sending documents to be reviewed in Poland.

The firm used Capita's outsourced legal services operation in Krakow to review aspects of a large dispute.

Both parties had agreed on a number of matters covered by the documents, meaning that a significant amount of data was no longer relevant, whilst some information was still privileged.

The firm chose Capita's purpose-built, 550-seat operation in central Krakow, where reviewers catalogued a total of 1.6m documents. Capita said that the legal process outsourcing operation, which opened in 2011, has 85 fee-earners recruited in Krakow.

James Cowan, head of legal services outsourcing at Capita, said: 'In the midst of a recession and at an increasingly litigious time, law firms are facing downward cost pressures along with demands to increase their value contribution to litigation case management.'

Last week magic circle firm Allen & Overy announced the outsourcing of 67 back-office jobs to Belfast from offices in the US and continental Europe.

The firm has announced its intention to employ 300 staff in Northern Ireland by next year.

City firm Herbert Smith opened a Belfast office in April 2011 for a mixture of qualified lawyers and legal assistants. The firm has also looked to use its Belfast document review centre for cases from the Freehills side of its business.

Last October, insurance firm Keoghs announced a three-year partnership with IT services provider Steria to overhaul its infrastructure. The decision was made to save costs and improve productivity.

CATEGORIES