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.
1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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 view source: https://www.kashishipr.com/blog/understanding-the-critical-elements-of-a-cost-effective-legal-department/
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