Understanding the Critical Elements of a Cost-Effective Legal Department
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Without any second thoughts, controlling the costs in a legal department can, at times, prove to be exceedingly challenging, specifically when it comes to a growing business. Although it is imperative to protect and maintain the legal rights of businesses adequately, it is equally imperative to ensure that the legal and business strategies are well-aligned so that the legal services can effectively manage the Intellectual Property (IP) portfolio. So, let us now make ourselves familiar with a few aspects, using which a legal department can minimize its cost, that too, with little optimization.
- IP Benchmarking
As a brand or a business grows, there may be a coinciding growth of the IP portfolio as well. The same can prove to a bit challenging for the legal departments in business companies or organizations as every new IP asset comes with a set of additional costs. In this scenario, the concept of IP benchmarking can help the legal departments in controlling the costs of Intellectual Property Protection within the IP portfolio. With effective IP benchmarking, the legal team shall be able to understand the value and influence of every other IP asset not only individually but also as a part of the overall IP portfolio. Furthermore, the IP benchmarking process can offer valuable insights into the costs of IP protection in the market by comparing the service providers and seeing what the competitors are paying for the same set of services. It will help in making sure that a business company or organization doesn’t overpay for external legal services or fees.
- Resource Allocation
If the legal department of a company operates within a growing business, then it sometimes becomes difficult to control the costs as there may be a need to hire new staff members for supporting the legal work associated with the business growth. It can also include the requirement for having a specialized legal counsel. For the same reason, the legal department and the general counsel should together evaluate how the different staff members are allocated among different cases, both by time and skillset. Also, in the scenario where there is a need for specialized legal knowledge, it can be beneficial to consult an external legal services provider. As per various recent reports and surveys conducted, the tools and techniques used by the legal departments hold immense potential for cost savings. The overall costs of maintaining these resources can increase as the legal department grows; so, it is essential to assess these resources and understand whether they provide a suitable ROI for the business or not.
- Outsourcing Specialized Tasks
After understanding the allocation of the internal resources, you can have a better insight into the skillset and resources, which are more cost-effective to outsource. Irrespective of whether your team is managing a high workload or you require the assistance of a specialized team for a short term project, outsourcing legal work and tasks can prove to be beneficial for many reasons. The prime advantage is that your legal team would have access to additional resources and specialists with no obligation of hiring permanent staff members or paying the high costs for legal tools. If your business owns a growing IP portfolio, then you can consult an IP specialist and enable access to a broad network of legal resources, which can lead to better IP protection, specifically when it comes to tasks like IP docketing or performing a Trademark Search. The overall benefits of outsourcing can differ from one business to another; so, it is highly advisable to seek advice from different service providers and then determine what is more cost-effective for your legal department. For more visit: https://www.kashishipr.com/
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