Buyer interest in legal process outsourcing (LPO) is growing, with the sector's development showing no sign of slowing down. That was the message of a recent conference at Chicago's Radisson Hotel. Best Practice Global Outsourcing Strategies in Legal Operations was also the first ever LPO event held by global conference group, the International Quality and Productivity Centre (IQPC).

Delegates heard a range of seminars on topics such as negotiating and managing outsourcing relationships, intellectual property and future trends. The event's chief advantage was its presentation of case studies based on real outsourcing ventures, rather than hypothetical examples. These studies gave delegates an insight into measuring return on investment in IP-related outsourcing relationships; correct introduction of LPO regimes and the changes of management involved in this process; and how to improve contract management efficiency when working with LPO providers. In addition to that material, there was a best practice guide to successfully structuring and managing offshore document review projects. Organisations that took part in the conference included the Northwestern University School of Law and the Securities, Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) Outsourcing Committee.

Conference director Laura Hou, of IQPC's Legal IQ division, told IP Review Online that the mood at the event was positive, with law firms and LPO providers mingling between the issues-based sessions. In her view, legal outsourcing is a robust sector with encouraging prospects on the horizon. 'It looks like a large number of law firms are getting involved in LPO, which has made for a very optimistic vendors' market,' she said, 'but many of those vendors are on different pages as they are taking a variety of different approaches. Some are just doing document review, while others are looking to take care of clients' entire processes. I expect this will mature a lot more by the end of 2009. Even though a large number of law firms are using LPO, an even larger number are not, so I'm looking forward to seeing how the field develops. We may even see some convergence, with businesses merging as confidence grows in LPO.'

Laura explained that the event grew from interest expressed by delegates at a business process outsourcing (BPO) conference staged in late March and early April, which looked at a variety of offshore solutions open to globalised companies. 'This is a new area that we're exploring – the idea for this conference came from our huge Shared Services Week in Florida earlier this year, where a lot of people came to us and said: "maybe you should consider doing a conference on LPO."

Pronouncing the event a success, Laura reveals that LPO is set to play a larger role in the IQPC's activities. 'We are planning to run other events that will look in more detail at specific areas of LPO,' she says, 'so we're hoping that the field continues to grow as we become more involved. It was a small, but very interactive and optimistic conference – we hope it has made a positive contribution.'

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