Five Good Tips (and One Great One) For Hiring an Alternative Legal Service Provider
Feb 23 2021
Jamie Francis is a Womble Bond Dickinson partner and chair of the firm’s ASLP, GCSolutions. Jamie is a highly recognized and respected corporate attorney with extensive experience working with regional, national, and international companies on mergers and acquisitions, private placements of securities, and technology, and other commercial transactions.
John Jaye is senior division counsel with our GCSolutions team. John has over 16 years of experience in mergers and acquisitions, securities and corporate governance. Prior to joining Womble Bond Dickinson, John founded and operated a contract transportation business.
Stephanie Hinrichs is senior director of sales for GCSolutions. Stephanie brings more than a decade of experience in marketing and sales, specifically in the legal, economic development, airline, and transportation industries. Her prior experience includes global organizations such as Lufthansa German Airlines, DHL Express, and Littler Mendelson, P.C.
Like every other industry, the “Everything from Everywhere” marketplace and digital economy is changing how the legal industry works. Chief among these changes is the growth of the Alternative Legal Service Provider. In a recent report, the Blickstein Group found that one-third of the legal departments it surveyed increased their spend on ALSPs during 2020 and 38 percent expect their spend to increase this year. ALSPs provide services ranging from business operations support like NDAs and entity formations, to legal services at scale such as high volume due diligence and temp staffing, to internal legal design and consulting for projects like document retention policies/schedules.
Inspired by the needs of his corporate clients, Jamie Francis launched Womble Bond Dickinson’s ALSP, GCSolutions, in 2017 and he has a few tips for anyone considering these outsourced services.
Clearly define what it is you’re trying to accomplish before you start looking for an ALSP. The level of experience and adaptability as well as business model and cost varies widely among service providers. Clearly defined goals will help you ask the right questions and filter out service providers.