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How can a legal department reduce operational costs without sacrificing quality? What role does technology play in legal department cost savings? And, how can outsourcing contribute to a more efficient legal department?
In a corporate legal department, IP cost controlcan seem increasingly challenging, especially within a growing business. While it is necessary to adequately protect and maintain the legal rights of a business, thelegal and business strategies need to be well-aligned to ensure that legal services are managing IP portfolios effectively. Here are some services that can help.
1. IP Benchmarking
As a business grows, there may be a coinciding growth of its IP portfolio. This can become challenging for corporate legal departments aseach new IP asset comes with its own additional costs. Benchmarking can help legal departments control increasing IP portfolio costs. Effective benchmarking will require cross-team collaboration, so the legal team can understand the value and influence of each asset both individually and as part of the portfolio.
Additionally, the benchmarking process can provide insights regarding the costs of IP protection within the market by comparing service providers and what competitors are paying for the same services. This ensures that a business is not overpaying for external legal fees and services.
2. Resource Allocation
If your legal department operates within a growing business, it can be difficult to control costs, as you may need to hire new staff to support the legal work associated with business growth. For this reason, general counsel and legal departments shouldassess how staff members are allocated both by skillset and time. In cases where specialist legal knowledge is required on an ad-hoc basis, it may also be advantageous to retain an external legal advisor.
However, one area that can be overlooked is the potential to achieve cost savings through the tools and technology used by the legal department. This includes IP management software and AI productivity assistants, for example.
3. Outsourcing Specialist Work
By understanding how your internal resources are allocated, you can gain insights into skillsets and tasks that may be more cost-effective to outsource. Whether your team is already handling a high workload or you need specialist services for a short-term project, outsourcing administrative workcan be more advantageous for multiple reasons. The main cost advantage is that your legal team has access to specialists and additional resources without the obligation to hire permanent staff or pay for access to legal tools.
Certain matters may also require specialist support that can deliver indirect financial benefits to a business. For example, if your business has a growing IP portfolio, consulting with an IP specialist can unlock access to an extensive network of legal resources, which may result in better IP protection, especially for tasks such as IP docketing or trademark searching.The benefits of outsourcing can differ from business to business, so it's worth consulting multiple service providers to determine which is more cost-effective for your legal department.
4. Consolidate Resources
Depending on the structure of your legal department and how the workload is managed, it may be more cost-effective to consolidate legal work and administrative tasks to fewer team members and/or fewer external service providers. As a business grows, legal requirements can change, so processes and suppliers may no longer be as effective. Conducting an assessment of how your legal department utilises resources can reveal potential for cost savings through consolidation.
To find out more about the benefits of outsourcing IP legal work, read our article ' How Outsourcing IP Support Can Enhance and Improve IP Administration Processes ,' discover '4 Good Reasons to Outsource Trademark Docketing ,' or download our 'Case Studies in IP Administration.'
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.
