What is BPO, KPO, and LPO?

When it comes to outsourcing legal tasks, there is often a list of acronyms that tend to show up, sometimes leaving those interested scratching their heads regarding what these terms mean and how they will affect their business needs. 

That is why in this blog post, we will go over these different terms, specifically detailing what they stand for and how to determine which outsourcing process is right for you.

What is Legal Process Outsourcing?

Legal process outsourcing, also referred to as legal outsourcing, often refers to the practice of a law firm or other business obtaining legal support services from an outside support services company or law firm.

three diverse attorneys have a discussion in law office

This legal outsourcing can often lead to significant cost-saving measures, which frees companies or law firms to focus on their work, moving mundane routine tasks to third parties and ultimately reducing workload, cutting costs, and allowing firms to do what they do best.

What is the Difference Between KPO, RPO, and LPO?

One common issue many people encounter when looking for legal process outsourcing is the different terms they come across and what they mean for the firm.Thankfully, we have broken these terms down, so you have a better understanding of what they can mean for you.

  • Knowledge Processing Outsourcing (KPO): This is a process in which an outsourcing service provider is hired not only for their capacity but to perform a particular business process or function in a complex area such as legal services, business and market research, or data analytics.

  • Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO): This type of outsourcing is exclusively created for the legal industry and generally covers the non-core functions in a law firm, such as legal research, providing advice, and drafting legal documents. 

  • Research Process Outsourcing (RPO): RPO refers to when a business transfers all or part of its analysis and research functions to an external service provider. Generally, investment firms, marketing agencies, and biotech companies are the businesses that most frequently engage in RPO services.

What is Exactly Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)?

Business process outsourcing or BPO is a method of subcontracting various business-related operations to other third-party vendors. This type of outsourcing has gained significant support because it provides companies services related to customer support, technical support, marketing, and human resource services. However, more importantly, it also caters to almost any type of industry and business model.

What are the Most Utilized BPO models?

The primary goal of the BPO is to free up time, cut costs, and allow companies to focus on the core aspects of their business. That is why the most utilized BPO models are the front office and back office.

The front-office BPO focuses on activities that are external to the company, such as customer services and marketing. While, back-office BPO involves the internal aspects of a business, including payroll, billing, and inventory purchasing.

Is It Good to Join LPO?

Because the LPO industry aims to support and help law firms and legal practices, there are numerous benefits it can provide a firm, including:

Freeing Up Time

LPO’s take over non-essential work that allows law firms and their employees to focus on their core activities.

Reducing Expenses

LPO’s allow firms to expand their workforce without paying onboarding costs, such as hiring and training new employees.

Improve Client Relationships

LPO’s not only help reduce a firm’s workload, but they can also provide assistance with customer services, allowing firms to have better and more secure relationships.

Increase Growth

LPO’s have been known to promote a law firm’s market growth by improving revenue flow, bottom-line growth, and client retention.

Improve Efficiency

With an LPO, you will not need to spend time and money hiring and training experts to take on your work, and you will not need to acquire new equipment and tools. Rather, with an LPO provider, you will get experts ready to take on your jobs.

What is a Document Review in an LPO?

The document review process often involves attorneys or legal staff determining if a legal document is relevant to the case at hand. However, in an LPO, this document review is outsourced to legal professionals working under qualified attorneys at a reasonable cost. 

As a result, outsourcing document review is significantly more economical to a company than handling the process in-house. Plus, it saves law firms time and allows key staff to focus on more strategic elements in crucial cases.

How to Find a Client for Legal Process Outsourcing?

Although it may seem smart to highlight how companies will lower their costs and spending, when it comes to finding a client for legal process outsourcing. In truth, it is often better to emphasize what you are offering these clients in terms of security.  

That is why when speaking about legal process outsourcing, it is always better to focus on the technology, biometric controls, and day-to-day operations. In addition, going over how an outsourcing team handles confidential information is also a wise strategy since those often interested in an LPO are looking for a provider who can solve their issues, manage risks, and handle human relationships efficiently and confidentially.

What is the Meaning of LPO and FPO?

As mentioned above, LPO refers to legal process outsourcing or providers who offer legal services to law firms or corporations needing legal help. On the other hand, FPO or finance process outsourcing is when certain financial functions of a company are outsourced to a third-party service provider. These companies outsource these finance functions to concentrate on the priorities of their business.

Contact Us Today For More Information

If you are considering outsourcing and would like to discuss any of these processes further or find out what would work best for your company, contact Back Office Legal today for more information or a free consultation.

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