Businesses have various reasons for outsourcing legal work. Reasons companies outsource general legal work include: increased revenue generation by helping the company to transact business more quickly, managing confidentiality by moving the matter outside the local company environment, and avoiding liability. Some important reasons companies outsource technology law related transactions include:
- a lack of expertise in the technical subject matter
- a lack of knowledge concerning applicable regulations or law that is specific to technology, e.g., data privacy laws
- lack of ability to identify contract provisions that are critical in the context of a technology-centric agreement
- the potential high risk involved when dealing with intellectual property
- outside technology firms potentially have the benefit of having negotiated with the party on the opposite of the transaction in the past
- reducing costs as there may not be enough technical work for the department to justify a technical attorney in-house
- time gained by not spending time establishing proficiency in an area of law that is outside the core competency area for the legal department
When outsourcing more specialized areas of legal work such as technology, it is critical to utilize attorneys experienced in that particular legal discipline.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
