Almost two-thirds of US law companies said their firms had outsourced some functions within the past year and more than half reported that their firms had begun outsourcing some functions five or more years ago. The most frequently outsourced functions were related to documents?mailroom, messenger, and reprographics. The second-most frequently outsourced functions were administrative: travel and food services.
Less than 20% of firms surveyed outsource IT functions, but many were open to doing so in the future. Very few firms outsource accounting functions or plan to do so in the future. More than 90% of respondents reported that the companies they employed for outsourcing are located in the continental US More than 60% of those who outsourced functions said they did so primarily because outsourcing allowed them to focus on core competencies. More than one-third also cited cost savings, ALM Research says.