Vince Neicho is Vice President, Legal Services at Integreon. Before that he was for many years responsible for litigation support and eDisclosure at Allen & Overy. He has written a timely article on the Integreon blog called Law firms and the cyclical nature of litigation, investigations, and dispute resolution.
His opening proposition is that the economic aftermath of major events like COVID-19 brings work for disputes lawyers just as their law firms are forced to make cuts. Litigation and renewed regulatory intervention creates opportunities at a time when budgets and staff are being cut across the firm. How can firms be ready to profit from this work when their resources are being reduced?
His answer, which seems obvious once expressed, is that law firms can outsource those parts of the work which cannot be performed efficiently and economically within the firm. The most extreme example of work which is simultaneously important and resource-intensive is document review, and the engagement of an alternative legal service provider (like Integreon) allows firms to manage the peaks and troughs, profiting from the wave of new work without challenging the firm’s restricted budgets.
This increasingly makes sense even in normal times. Major adverse events redefine normality and prompt consideration of new approaches.
Vince Neicho’s article sets out how Integreon works with litigation departments to ensure that their lawyers can concentrate on the management of the dispute itself – the strategy, the tactics and compliance with the formal processes imposed by rules and orders – while working closely with the ALSP who deals with the document review.
