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Leveraging managed services to optimize performance within legal departments

IN TODAY’S legal landscape, the concept of managed services has garnered significant attention. However, it is important to know the potential benefits and use cases when assessing whether a managed-services partnership is right for your organization. We spoke with BLG Beyond, a division of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP (BLG), one of the first Canadian firms to conceive and implement a managed-services solution for clients, to learn more.

BLG Beyond is a suite of innovative services that deliver value-driven solutions to our clients’ most pressing challenges. The services deliver an exceptional client experience by leveraging BLG’s trusted advice with efficient, technology-enabled processes.

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“In the legal community, there is an eagerness to explore innovative solutions to long-standing challenges. In-house teams are increasingly stretched to meet the demands of their internal clients”

Nicole St-Louis, BLG Beyond Leasing

A legal managed service can be defined as the practice of outsourcing a workstream to an external legal service provider. This is often done for the purpose of improved operations, predictable spend, and, sometimes, reduced budgetary expenditures. The workstream is frequently high-volume and consumes costly internal resources such as in-house lawyers and support personnel. In essence, a managed service is a novel approach to delivering legal services that would traditionally be performed in-house. There are many benefits to the implementation of a managed-service model. For instance, by outsourcing high-volume but repetitive work, a managed-service arrangement can free up internal legal resources, allowing them to focus on more high-value or strategic work. By outsourcing the entirety of a workstream to an experienced alternative legal services provider (ALSP), in-house teams benefit from the investment law firms have made in technology, processes, and professional development as part of their core business. BLG was one of the first Canadian firms to conceive and implement a managed-services solution for clients. BLG Beyond supports in-house teams across seven key domains including leasing, lending, e-discovery, business immigration, consulting, legal talent, and securities compliance.

We have highlighted a few case studies from BLG Beyond to help illustrate managed services: Ivanhoé Cambridge refocused its business around strategic priorities by transitioning its legal leasing team to BLG Beyond, exemplifying one of the myriad models for managed services. Seeking to adjust the management of its Canadian shopping centre portfolio to align with its global business strategy, Ivanhoé Cambridge partnered with BLG Beyond Leasing. This collaboration resulted in the establishment of an external in-house model, the first of its kind in Canada. Under this innovative arrangement, a segment of Ivanhoé Cambridge’s legal operations, comprising a 12-member team,

was integrated into BLG Beyond. This transition was facilitated through a service agreement, which not only introduced a new governance structure but also implemented a bespoke cost framework and an effective conflict-management protocol. “In the legal community, there is an eagerness to explore innovative solutions to long-standing challenges. In-house teams are increasingly stretched to meet the demands of their internal clients,” explains Nicole St-Louis, partner and co-leader of BLG Beyond Leasing.

A foreign-based television studio and motion picture production company filmed a foreign-language film in Canada at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Another excellent use case for legal managed services is specialized work that could not be done quickly or efficiently by an in-house team. The expertise of the BLG Beyond Business Immigration team streamlined the application process for over 140 cast and crew travelling from outside North America to film in Vancouver. The client was concerned about the impact the pandemic would have on multiple filming locations in light of travel restrictions. Estimated revenue loss was significant as contracts had already been entered into for various locations. Any delay in schedule would interrupt filming

“An increasingly global workforce has made corporate compliance a hot-button issue … We like to partner with these clients to offer a solution that manages all of these needs”

Brian Dingle, BLG Beyond Business Immigration

To determine whether your in-house legal team could benefit from a managed-services partnership, consider the following: • You have a discrete portfolio of work that is repetitive. This could include “business-as-usual” work that follows predictable and repeatable processes. By outsourcing routine legal work to specialists, your team can streamline operations, freeing up valuable time and resources to focus on more strategic initiatives. • Your legal team encounters difficulties adopting or keeping pace with legal technologies. Internal legal departments

often find themselves competing with their own operations groups to obtain support on purchase and deployment of technology that would make their jobs easier. A managed-service provider has already invested in and tested the technology and is ready to apply those efficiencies. • Your legal team faces surge demand with insufficient resources. Working with a managed-services provider on discrete projects can help augment your team or skill set when required.

Managed services: case studies

When are managed services right for your team?

What is managed services?

When are managed services right for your team?

Published July 2, 2024

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What is managed services?

“Legal departments continue to face intense pressure to do more with less. This has a direct impact on the number of projects teams can absorb internally. We harness a multidisciplinary approach to large-scale projects including a synergy between people, process, and technology”

Emily Wesson, BLG Beyond Legal Talent

and effect the employment of various cast and crew, who had already been part of the project outside Canada. BLG Beyond’s approach provided the studio with a well-organized legal solution that addressed all the client’s needs to staff the production under extremely tight and varied timelines, for individuals located in the US, Japan, South Korea, and the UK. “An increasingly global workforce has made corporate compliance a hot-button issue. It is not enough to simply obtain the appropriate work authorization for employees – we must ensure that our clients are compliant with all immigration, tax, and employment laws. We help organizations manage their international workforce, conducting compliance audits, identifying risks, developing work streams, and vetting international recruitment practices. We like to partner with these clients to offer a solution that manages all of these needs,” says Brian Dingle, partner and national leader of BLG Beyond Business Immigration. Not all managed services are long-term engagements. There are some projects a trusted service provider can simply take off your hands. A service provider can support with short-term arrangements in an innovative way, such as contract review. For instance, during a significant transaction, BLG Beyond’s technology-enabled, team-based approach was able to complete an extensive contract review project significantly under budget and ahead of schedule. The process was led by BLG Beyond Consulting, using AI to review the documents. The output was reviewed by freelance lawyers from BLG Beyond Legal Talent, with questions being elevated to a senior associate in BLG’s corporate commercial group for supervision, review, and approval. “Legal departments continue to face intense pressure to do more with less. This has a direct impact on the number of projects teams can absorb internally. We harness a multidisciplinary approach to large- scale projects, including a synergy among people, process, and technology,” says Emily Wesson, who leads BLG Beyond’s freelance service offering BLG Beyond Legal Talent.

What should you look for in a managed-services partner?

“BLG Beyond sits at the intersection of business and legal, reflecting the unique challenges faced by in-house teams. It’s about offering in-house teams more flexibility, but with all the bench strength and financial resources of Canada’s Law Firm”

Mary Ann Stallings, BLG Beyond Consulting

• A commitment to attain key performance indicators • A culture of openness and inquisitiveness, and a willingness to explore ideas and propose custom solutions to unique challenges • Access to broad legal expertise outside the managed-services arrangement to quickly address other issues that emerge during an engagement

With its commitment to providing forward-thinking solutions for processes, technology, and personnel, BLG Beyond stands out as a model of excellence for legal managed services. “BLG Beyond sits at the intersection of business and legal, reflecting the unique challenges faced by in-house teams,” explains Mary Ann Stallings, who leads BLG Beyond Consulting. “It’s about offering in-house teams more flexibility, but with all the bench strength and financial resources of Canada’s Law Firm.”

Estimated ALSP market size: 2015 - 2021

Source: Thomson Reuters 2023

Independent ALSPs

Law Firm Captives

Big Four

CAGR: Compound annual growth rate.

2017

2015

2019

2021

$900M

$1.2B

$1.4B

$1.5B

$7.35B

$9.2B

$12B

$18B

$150M

$300M

$480M

$1B

Total: $8B-$9B

Total: $10B-$11B

Total: $13B-$14B

Total: $19B-$21B

CAGR = 13%

CAGR = 15%

CAGR = 20%

What does a managed service look like?

the entirety of the workstream is outsourced to the legal service provider rather than adhoc support

a governance model and documented standing instructions developed in collaboration between the client and the legal service provider

the implementation of an alternative fee arrangement that does not rely on an hourly rate

the application of processes to manage volume levels and produce reports for clients

the development of communications protocols and practices where the legal service provider obtains instructions, often entirely bypassing the internal legal department

the development of standard service levels to replicate or better the service levels that were achieved when the work was performed in-house

enhanced reporting

“An increasingly global workforce has made corporate compliance a hot-button issue … We like to partner with these clients to offer a solution that manages all of these needs”

Brian Dingle, BLG Beyond Business Immigration

The optimal legal managed-services partner offers forward-thinking solutions at the convergence of process, technology, and personnel. When choosing your managed-services partner, prioritize the following: • Experience in deploying managed service models to other clients • Specialized expertise tailored to specific needs • Technological innovations that increase efficiency and accuracy, and enhance the client experience • Evidence of cost and time savings through tangible performance outcomes • A commitment to attain key performance indicators • A culture of openness and inquisitiveness, and a willingness to explore ideas and propose custom solutions to unique challenges • Access to broad legal expertise outside the managed-services arrangement to quickly address other issues that emerge during an engagement

When are managed services right for your team?

MARY ANN STALLINGS, BLG BEYOND CONSULTING

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Inhouse

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Managed Services: case studies

“An increasingly global workforce has made corporate compliance a hot-button issue … We like to partner with these clients to offer a solution that manages all of these needs”

Brian Dingle, BLG Beyond Business Immigration

“An increasingly global workforce has made corporate compliance a hot-button issue … We like to partner with these clients to offer a solution that manages all of these needs”

Brian Dingle, BLG Beyond Business Immigration

Managed Services: case studies

News

Practice Areas

Rankings

Events

Inhouse

Resources

Advertise About us Contact us Privacy Terms of Use Submit your move

Canadian Lawyer subscription Canadian Lawyer InHouse subscription Newsletter Digital editions Authors External contributors Editorial board RSS