Law firms 'should outsource' tasks to be more effective - claim

By DavidHiggerson on Jun 29, 07 12:27 AM

Solicitors in Merseyside are losing out on profits according to recent research by a Prescot-based firm of law costs draftsmen and negotiators, which shows that wasted time and ineffective working methods are costing firms thousands every year.

The research by Compass Costs Consultants shows that lawyers waste between 4 and 5 hours a week - or 260 hours a year - chasing and negotiating outstanding debts. With clients being charged up to £250 for an hour of their solictor’s time, the potential loss of earnings is phenomenal, the comany said

Phil Hodgkinson, managing director of Compass Costs Consultants, the UK’s leading cost firm, said: “The majority of firms in the North West still deal with their costing work in-house and in many cases rely on solicitors and fee earners to recover their own fees, who often do not have the skill or resources to do this efficiently.

"The reality is that costs recovery is now a very complex area of law, which requires in-depth knowledge and skills in order to retrieve maximum costs with minimum effort.

“Outsourcing has become increasingly popular throughout many firms in legal sectors, especially in areas such as health and safety and HR, yet many law firms are still failing to recognise the importance of outsourcing their cost recovery.�?

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