As I speak with law firm leaders about their legal research challenges, three issues consistently rise to the top:

1. “It takes our people too much time to conduct legal research.
2. “Our attorneys have better ways to use their time – legal research isn’t in our attorneys’ wheelhouse.”
3. “We have to write off legal research costs.”

What we’re seeing is that many firms are tackling these challenges by using outside legal research firms. There are several advantages to outsourcing a portion, or even most of their research.

Better Economics
Professional legal researchers know where to get the best information in the most efficient manner, which often leads to lower legal research costs (and write-offs), as well as cost predictability.

Speed
An outside legal research service is a resource to hand off time-sensitive, time-intensive research to a dedicated team that specializes in delivering quality research results quickly. Professional legal researchers know their sources and how to get to and deliver the best information, which allows you to move matters along more quickly.

Attorney Efficiency
A legal research firm frees your attorneys to focus on higher priorities, and also helps attorneys more efficiently handle their workloads.

Quality
Professional legal researchers have the experience and expertise to deliver high-quality results.

Address Staffing Gaps
Outside legal research services can help keep matters moving when staff has time off, or to address spikes in workload.

An outside legal research firm can be a powerful resource to help law firms conduct quality legal research quickly and cost efficiently. The challenge is to select a high-quality resource that can serve as a true extension of your team – and deliver the expert results you need, in an efficient and cost-effective manner.