Problem: The legal function was organised along regional lines, while the business lines were organised into global structures for reporting and management purposes. The problem was to resolve this mis-match by creating the first global legal team within the department. Core regional teams in UK/EUR, APAC and AMER would be supported by a new offshore legal team in India.

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What we did: We established the offshore team from scratch with local hiring. A new organisational structure was developed to maintain a close relationship between onshore and offshore teams to deliver the training, the project ramp-up and growth in combined capability. This involved several months of project activity, re-design of processes and techniques, the creation of playbooks and a university-style course for training the offshore team. We took an innovative approach by empowering the India team to run a 'full' end-to-end legal process under onshore supervision via online tools and a common digital platform, rather than taking a modular or 'split - process' approach, thereby enabling the possibility of relocating 'high-value' activities.

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Results: Full knowledge transfer was achieved with a high level of skills and capabilities in the India team. Within 5 years of the go-live the India team had grown to 40 people, and the investment was creating favourable ROI. This model pioneered techniques and knowledge which enabled capacity flex for the global team when it became essential to use other non-captive third party project or managed services.

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Top Tip: think of Outsourcing as a route towards some really smart solutions. It is far more than 'shipping' work out to a low cost location. It is the way to get what you want when you want it and deal with fluctuations in demand.

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