3 de julio|
How alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) have revolutionized the legal market in Spain and how talent and technology have taken over the firms that lead this model were the central themes of a digital event organized by the Legal Marketing and Legal Communication consultancy in Europe and Latin America, Gericó Associates.
The event featured the participation of firms such as Ambar (Axiom Spain), PwC, and Samaniego Law. It addressed the recurring practice of ALSPs in a context where corporate legal departments are seeking dual value: tangible solutions to optimize costs in the face of COVID-19 and to provide greater value to their internal clients.
Marc Gericó, managing partner of Gericó Associates, opened the session by highlighting the growing importance of these firms in Spain and Latin America. He emphasized that 90% of general counsel who already work with alternative service providers (ALSPs) will maintain or increase the work they commission from these providers. As evidence of the significance of this phenomenon, Gericó noted that these firms generate approximately €9.459 billion in revenue worldwide and pointed out that the prestigious international directory Chambers & Partners recently launched a chapter specifically for ALSPs.
Pablo Fernández Burgueño, of counsel, of PwC Tax & Legal Services specializing in New Law and professor, framing the debate, defined ALSPs through six essential traits: i) deep knowledge of the law; ii) attitude towards the client; iii) knowledge of the technology applied to legal processes; iv) ability to actively listen to the client; v) analytical ability to understand situations; vi) enthusiasm for change and taking action on it.
For his part, Manuel Deó, CEO of Ámbar, a Spanish firm associated with Axiom, commented that one of his concerns when designing his firm's business plan for Spain was its "scarce resource": lawyers from the best firms and in-house legal departments in Spain, seasoned in complex transactions and with the attitude they seek. According to Deó himself, Ámbar's objective is to return to the essence of the pre-Cravath model that defines contemporary firms and is now considered hegemonic, recovering the idea that professionals can decide which projects they work on and regain control and flexibility over their time to achieve a better work-life balance. Deó revealed that they will take this model to Latin America, starting with the Colombian and Mexican markets, adding, "We hope to have news to share in the coming weeks."
In the field of technology, Manuel Esteban, Director of Legaltech and Artificial Intelligence solutions at Samaniego Law and a mathematician by profession, emphasized that “law firms are the companies with the most information, and for managing this big data, artificial intelligence, through machine learning and deep learning, is key.” Esteban also highlighted several key aspects of the technology: the importance of enabling customized solutions, the need for it to be accompanied by people and processes, and the relevance of the indicators and metrics it provides. Specifically, Esteban stated that his firm favors a prescriptive, rather than predictive, model, in which the data itself dictates what needs to be done when, for example, setting a strategy or pricing services.
For Pablo Fernández, the most important thing is "not technology for technology's sake," but rather identifying which type of technology best suits clients' needs. He highlighted that the most relevant technologies for the legal sector are the IoT (Internet of Things) – which Fernández described as the "Internet of Everything" due to its widespread implementation – blockchain, deep learning, machine learning, extended reality, and big data, to name a few.
When asked about the future and what lies ahead, Manuel Esteban emphasized that we are facing a paradigm shift, stating, “We are in the era of the customer.” Regarding the technological aspect, Esteban himself pointed to quantum computing as a key factor. “With quantum computing, we will solve problems that previously took two centuries to solve in 200 seconds.” We are facing “a revolution in every sense of the word,” he concluded.
