By N Shivapriya & Anto T Joseph, The Economic Times
MUMBAI: UK’S Centric has joined hands with the Hinduja group and leading Indian law firm Fox Mandal Little to set up one of India's largest legal process outsourcing (LPO) firms.
The three-way joint venture, Centric LPO, is likely to employ over 1,000 lawyers initially and aims to make India an outsourcing hub for international legal practices. It will be 40% owned by the UK-based outsourcing major and 60% by the JV between HTMT Technologies and Fox Mandal, with HTMT Tech holding the majority stake.
For Hinduja TMT, which recently completed the acquisition of US-based BPO Affina, it will mean a foray into the fast-growing LPO space. Hinduja group chairman AP Hinduja confirmed the development. “There is a huge $4-billion opportunity in this sector. The JV will address this opportunity,” he said. The HTMT Tech-Fox JV will have four members on the LPO board while Centric will have two.
According to a Nasscom market intelligence report, the LPO segment is poised to cross $6 billion by 2010 and touch $15-$20 billion by 2015. LPO customers include legal departments of multinationals, international law, legal publishing and legal research enterprises.
However, as LPO is still new in India compared to traditional BPO services, like contact centres and finance and accounting services, it accounts for less than 11% of the $6.3-billion ITeS-BPO pie. But it also means there is still a huge market to be tapped. Nasscom estimates the current addressable LPO services market from the US alone to be around $3-$4 billion.
Also, the number of law graduates that India churns out annually is estimated at 79,000. Their starting salary is about 20-30% of their US counterparts, resulting in a significant cost advantage. Other factors driving LPO to India are the proven benefits of offshore outsourcing, access to skilled talent, and the time zone differential. Further, the Indian legal system is similar to those of the UK and US, which makes it easier to train Indian law graduates to suit their needs.
As in software, the US and the UK are the largest LPO markets. Centric will use its existing customer base in these markets to woo clients for the new business. Similarly, Fox Mandal will provide the legal expertise while the Hindujas the process skills. Sources said the JV will become operational in the next two months and that Centric had already lined up business from UK and US clients.
The three-way joint venture, Centric LPO, is likely to employ over 1,000 lawyers initially and aims to make India an outsourcing hub for international legal practices. It will be 40% owned by the UK-based outsourcing major and 60% by the JV between HTMT Technologies and Fox Mandal, with HTMT Tech holding the majority stake.
For Hinduja TMT, which recently completed the acquisition of US-based BPO Affina, it will mean a foray into the fast-growing LPO space. Hinduja group chairman AP Hinduja confirmed the development. “There is a huge $4-billion opportunity in this sector. The JV will address this opportunity,” he said. The HTMT Tech-Fox JV will have four members on the LPO board while Centric will have two.
According to a Nasscom market intelligence report, the LPO segment is poised to cross $6 billion by 2010 and touch $15-$20 billion by 2015. LPO customers include legal departments of multinationals, international law, legal publishing and legal research enterprises.
However, as LPO is still new in India compared to traditional BPO services, like contact centres and finance and accounting services, it accounts for less than 11% of the $6.3-billion ITeS-BPO pie. But it also means there is still a huge market to be tapped. Nasscom estimates the current addressable LPO services market from the US alone to be around $3-$4 billion.
Also, the number of law graduates that India churns out annually is estimated at 79,000. Their starting salary is about 20-30% of their US counterparts, resulting in a significant cost advantage. Other factors driving LPO to India are the proven benefits of offshore outsourcing, access to skilled talent, and the time zone differential. Further, the Indian legal system is similar to those of the UK and US, which makes it easier to train Indian law graduates to suit their needs.
As in software, the US and the UK are the largest LPO markets. Centric will use its existing customer base in these markets to woo clients for the new business. Similarly, Fox Mandal will provide the legal expertise while the Hindujas the process skills. Sources said the JV will become operational in the next two months and that Centric had already lined up business from UK and US clients.
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