Corporate law departments are increasingly outsourcing legal work, a practice commonly referred to as legal process outsourcing (LPO). Legal outsourcing refers to the practice of outsourcing certain tasks to alternative service providers (in addition to outside counsel) to lower costs and improve efficiency. 

In the context of the lifecycle of a legal matter, the time it takes to pay an invoice is critical to a law firm’s profitability. Therefore, billing delays and unpaid invoices cost money and valuable time. However, when a law firm sends a bill to corporate counsel, it could be hundreds of pages long, cover multiple matters, and clock in at millions of dollars. So, shouldn’t it take time to review and pay these cumbersome bills? Experts say yes and no.