Finance:Lawyers on Demand
Lawyers On Demand (LOD) is a global legal resourcing business created by law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP (BLP) and a merger with AdventBalance in Asia Pacific. It uses a non-traditional freelance model to provide services to organisations requiring legal support.
LOD lawyers work on a project basis, as part of in-house legal teams or in private practice firms. One of the features making LOD different from providers of short-term or interim legal resources is that it is owned and controlled by BLP, an established law firm. It has been used as an example of the legal profession addressing a period of disruptive change by incubating a new business model.
On September 5, 2023, Consilio announced that it had completed the acquisition of LOD.[1]
Development
BLP LOD was created in 2007 by Simon Harper, a partner at BLP, and Jonathan Brenner, then the firm's Head of Recruitment.[citation needed]
Early clients for the LOD service include Gucci, UBS and Vodafone.[2] Another reported client, Cisco Systems,[3] is a strong supporter of innovation in legal services and an investor in another ‘new generation’ legal service, Legal OnRamp.
In June 2012 BLP spun-out the LOD business as a separate BLP group company, still retaining strong links with the firm.[4]
Endorsements
BLP LOD resulted in BLP winning the Client Service category at the Financial Times’ Innovative Lawyers Awards 2008.[5]
In 2009, BLP LOD won an award[6] for HR innovation from The Lawyer and was a finalist for awards for innovation from Law Society of England and Wales[7] and Legal Business.
In October 2011 BLP LOD won the global InnovAction Award for innovation in the legal sector.
Professor Richard Susskind has commented that "Lawyers on Demand comes at a fascinating time in the current legal marketplace because it’s a marketplace in a huge state of flux".[8]
LOD has sparked debate from a number of prominent legal commentators around the merits of combining new model of legal service with a traditional one: “At this point in the evolution of the legal marketplace, when corporate clients are simultaneously pressured to reduce cost but also to maintain a sense of quality control, effectively offering clients two firms - one traditional, one innovative - could prove to be a remarkably powerful competitive advantage.”[9]
References
- ↑ "Consilio Completes Acquisition of Lawyers On Demand and SYKE" (in en). Consilio. https://www.consilio.com/2023/09/consilio-completes-acquisition-of-lawyers-on-demand-and-syke/.
- ↑ "About Us | The Hildebrandt Institute Blog". Hildebrandt.com. http://www.hildebrandt.com/Hubbard.FileSystem/files/Publication/e94bcb47-c5cf-4fdb-bdb2-04c30972148b/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/9b068f0a-81b9-4bbd-8518-0fb44a69a623/Hilde%20Conversations_BLP_final.pdf. Retrieved 2013-03-10.[yes|permanent dead link|dead link}}]
- ↑ "Cisco to use BLP's Lawyers on Demand | News | The Lawyer". thelawyer.com. http://www.thelawyer.com/cisco-to-use-blp’s-lawyers-on-demand/1002559.article. Retrieved 2015-03-07.
- ↑ "BLP votes to retain 80% stake in Lawyers on Demand spinoff". Legalweek. 2012-05-24. http://www.legalweek.com/legal-week/news/2179611/blp-votes-retain-80-stake-lawyers-demand-spinoff. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
- ↑ "FT.com / Special Reports / Innovative Lawyers". Rankings.ft.com. http://rankings.ft.com/innovativelawyers/client-service. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
- ↑ [1]
- ↑ [2]
- ↑ "Berwin Leighton Paisner". Blplaw.com. http://www.blplaw.com/index.cfm/Lawyers_on_Demand/1472. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
- ↑ "Law firms on demand - Law21". Law21.ca. http://www.law21.ca/2009/12/09/law-firms-on-demand/. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
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