Is LPOs set to ramp up headcount in India?

The global slowdown is keeping the legal process outsourcing (LPO) sector in India extra busy these days. With the sudden surge in business in the LPO space in the last one year, firms such as Pangea3, UnitedLex and Legal Circle are looking at ramping up headcount in the entry and mid-management levels over the next few months.

The turmoil in the financial services sector globally is driving more legal outsourcing to India both in the corporate and litigation space. Gurgaon-based UnitedLex’s vice-president HR, Rakhi Sharma, said, “We plan to hire 700 professionals in the next few months to keep pace with the work coming from the US and the UK.”

The firm has seen a significant jump in the number of outsourced projects over the last few months both in the corporate and litigation space. Bankruptcy filings in the US have gone up in the last couple of months raising demand for lawyers in India.

“Legal work related to bankruptcies in the global market has increased ,” said Pangea 3 Vice President Legal Services Antony Alex, adding that the law firm is set to recruit around 500 lawyers by the end of 2009. This includes campus placements across several law schools in the country.

Legal Circle, the LPO subsidiary of Delhi-based law firm Fox Mandal Little, too, is gearing up to ramp up headcount to take advantage of the booming time. “The demand for LPOs is on the rise and we have seen increased number of queries from the US to do litigation support from India,” said Fox Mandal Little managing partner Som Mandal.

According to research firm ValueNotes, the entire legal outsourcing industry in India reported revenues of $225 million in 2007, and is expected to generate revenues of around $640 million by the end of 2010. The sector reported a rise of over 200 per cent in revenues in the last 12 months.

Times of India