Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO), as mentioned is the outsourcing of legal and paralegal work from internal departments of organizations in countries like the U.S. or Europe to low cost countries like India. It deals with legal research, patent applications, contracts and agreements and other paralegal services.

The main benefits of working for the LPO industry are:

• The scope of activity is broader than traditional law, it provides opportunities for global corporate activity, and increases the market potential of the law professional

• Legal professionals find it a convenient and challenging job option with international exposure.

• The industry offers attractive remuneration and has future management prospects.

The global LPO market was placed at between $3-4 billion in 2006. This is expected to grow to between $200-250 billion by 2010.

The value of the LPO industry is estimated growing at $145 million per year. This industry is likely to generate over 80,000 jobs in the next eight years. By 2010, India should be in a position to achieve a significant growth by doubling its share to 6-7% in the $250-billion global LPO market.

The current status shows that only 3-4% of the potential U.S. market has been tapped. Presently, there are just 700 Indian lawyers who are working in the various LPOs throughout the country. The value of legal outsourcing to India is expected to reach $4 billion by 2015.

The legal profession is witnessing a major shift with legal professionals focusing on legal outsourcing as an alternate career to the traditional way of practicing law. The numbers of jobs outsourced in the legal services area are expected to grow to 35,000 by 2010 and up to 79,000 by 2015 in India.

The legal services covered under the LPO industry are:

• Legal research

• Document drafting like standard contracts, agreements, letters to the clients, patent applications etc

• Legal billing activities like preparation of invoices, collation of time sheets.

• Other Paralegal services include Intellectual Property Research--substantive and administrative, Paralegal Services, and administrative and secretarial activities like following up with clients etc.

Some of the main advantages for a career in the LPO industry are:

• It is a sunrise industry which will experience a boom in the next 3-5 years.

• Several high-end opportunities exist for graduates of top law schools.

• It is a learning opportunity for people who are considering legal and paralegal careers in UK or US

TWB is focusing on imparting training to the people in order to provide a big boost to the LPO Industry. Communication, teamwork, effective customer interaction, service excellence, and product knowledge enhancement are some of the key areas of focus for TWB.