Case law and statutory research is a critical aspect of legal practice, involving the identification of federal, state, and local laws, and analysis of relevant judicial opinions that shape the application of law in individual cases. For law firms and corporate legal departments questioning whether to handle legal research in-house or retain an outside legal service provider, here are some key indicators that you should consider outside legal research support.
Heavy Workloads and Tight Deadlines
When your legal team is inundated with significant demands from the company and/or clients, managing large-scale legal research in-house can become overwhelming. If your team is stretched thin, outsourcing this task to a specialized legal service provider can help alleviate the pressure. This allows your team to focus on higher-value tasks such as strategizing, client communication, and courtroom preparation, while your service partner handles the intricate details of legal research.
Need for Specialized Expertise
Certain cases require an in-depth understanding of specific legal areas, which may be outside the expertise of your in-house team. Complex areas like antitrust cases or data privacy law demand highly specialized knowledge. Legal support providers often have legal teams with niche expertise, ensuring that your research is conducted with the highest level of accuracy and relevance. This can be particularly beneficial in cases where the stakes are high, and every legal precedent must be thoroughly vetted.
Cost-Effectiveness
Managing an in-house legal research team can be expensive, particularly for companies with limited resources. Hiring and training legal researchers, maintaining access to legal databases, and managing the overhead costs associated with research operations can quickly add up. By engaging legal research support services, you can reduce these costs significantly. Research providers offer scalable solutions, allowing you to pay for the research services you need, when you need them, without the ongoing costs associated with maintaining an in-house team.
Increased Need for Comprehensive Research
For cases or legal issues involving complex litigation or regulatory compliance, comprehensive research is a requirement. If an issue requires a deep dive into historical precedents, or if the outcome depends heavily on nuanced legal interpretations, a legal support provider can ensure that all approaches are analyzed. A legal support provider can also spend the time needed to ensure that all state and local laws are researched, which can be especially time-consuming when local regulations are not easily searchable.
Efficiency and Turnaround Time
Legal support providers are often able to conduct case law research more immediately than in-house teams with limited internal resources and competing considerations. This can be key in cases where time is of the essence, such as emergency motions or last-minute case developments.
Managing Fluctuating Workloads
Legal workloads can fluctuate, with periods of intense activity followed by slower times. Maintaining an in-house team for legal research during slower periods can be inefficient and costly. Utilizing a legal research provider offers flexibility, allowing you to scale your research needs up or down based on your current workload. This ensures that you are only paying for the services you need, without the burden of maintaining a full-time team during downtimes.
Legal research services can provide numerous benefits. If your firm or legal department is experiencing heavy workloads, requires specialized knowledge, wants to explore cost savings, or needs to improve efficiency, consider partnering with a legal support provider. For thorough and accurate legal research completed in a timely manner, contact Baer Reed today.
Mr. Reyes graduated with honors from the Ateneo de Manila University, where he received the Procter and Gamble Student Excellence Award. He obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the Ateneo de Manila School of Law. During law school, Mr. Reyes was part of the Philippine delegation to the Willem C. Vis International Commercial Arbitration Moot held in Vienna, Austria. He was also a member of the Ateneo Society of International Law and the St. Thomas More Debate Society. He completed his internship at the Public Attorney’s Office. He wrote a thesis entitled: “To Kill A White Elephant: An Analysis of the Fiduciary Exception to the Corporate Attorney-Client Privilege”. Mr. Reyes is admitted to practice law in the Philippines and the State of New York.
Ms. Lardizabal-Manzano is a graduate of San Sebastian College-Recoletos, where she earned her B.A. in Political Science. In 2003, she received her law degree from Lyceum of the Philippines and was admitted to practice law in 2004.
Matthew Hersh earned a B.A. in Political Science from Columbia University in 1990 and graduated cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center in 1999. He also holds a master’s degree in international relations from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.
Cap. Avi Levak (Res. IDF) graduated from from Israel’s prestigious Ben-Gurion University of the Negev with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics. He is also a Leadership and Communication coach trained in TuT coaching by Alon gal in Israel. Avi specializes in high-level, in-depth analysis of business and client needs, within systems and software strategy and architecture.
Ms. Tyler graduated cum laude from Georgetown University and received her law degree, cum laude, from Georgetown University Law Center. During law school, she interned at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. She also worked on The Tax Lawyer journal and was a member of the award-winning Barristers’ Council Mock Trial Team. Ms. Tyler is admitted to practice law in the State of California and the District of Columbia.
Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo graduated cum laude and top nine in her batch from Miriam College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts in InternationalStudies. She obtained her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law in Rockwell. During law school, she interned in Rivera, Santos, Maranan & Associates. She was also part of Ateneo’s Labor Law Bar Operations. She wrote her thesis on, “Stealing Privacy: Limitations on Media’s Photographic Invasion.,” Ms. Cruz-Anonuevo is admitted to practice law in the Philippines.
Ms. Aquino-Batallones obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Development Studies (with Minors in Global Politics and Hispanic Studies) from the Ateneo de Manila University. In 2011, she received her Juris Doctor degree from Ateneo de Manila University School of Law. During law school, she interned at Romulo Mabanta Buenaventura Sayoc & de los Angeles then became an intern of Ateneo Legal Services Center’s Clinical Legal Education Program.
Mr. De Guzman graduated from San Beda College with a degree of Bachelor of Arts Major in Economics and received his law degree from San Beda College of Law. He is multilingual and is fluent in three languages: Chinese, Filipino, and English. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar in 2003.