The idea that companies or law firms would turn to legal outsourcing providers for help during busy season seems foreign to many. But Abhi Shah, chief executive officer of legal services provider the “Clutch Group”:http://www.clutchgroup.com, says the subprime crisis is shining a new light on the outsourcing of legal services.
Whether it’s corporate in-house counsel defending a company against a class action lawsuit or law firms dealing with an influx of subprime-related cases, Shah expects Clutch’s model will prosper as attorneys become inundated with subprime-related work and search for available outsourcing partners who can assist them with everything from research to legal document review.

“Particularly with subprime, it has been a negative news story,” Shah said. But, he added, “It really has been a positive story in terms of what is happening in the outsourcing world and, in particular, in legal services.”
The areas where Shah expects to see the most demand include class action lawsuits involving shareholders, investment banks and bankrupt mortgage lenders; Congressional hearings and investigations; and cases involving the defense of mortgage bankers.
Shah says, in most cases, jurisdiction is not an issue since Clutch’s attorneys work worldwide and have jurisdiction in multiple areas. In cases where jurisdictions have to be considered, Shah says the company will simply assign an attorney who is able to work in that particular jurisdiction.
Clutch’s key clients are the market’s major players.
“The corporations or the in-house corporate counsel are the ultimate clients,” Shah concluded. “Whether the law firm brings us in, which is often the case, or we are contacted directly by the corporation—it works either way.”