Traditionally, alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) are seen as providers of cost-effective solutions for high-volume, low-complexity tasks like contract management and document review. Over the past several years, ALSPs have transformed into strategic partners for law firms and corporate legal departments. They now provide specialised expertise and prioritize leveraging technology to enhance efficiency, foster innovation, and deliver value in legal operations.
The start of 2025 represents not just a fresh start but an opportunity to further shift perspectives and reimagine how legal services could be delivered.
Why 2025 Is a Turning Point
Why should 2025 be any different from previous years? While budget and resourcing constraints are nothing new, the pressure to leverage technology—particularly genAI—to operate more efficiently and cost effectively has never been greater. For legal department leaders, the demand for smarter workflows, better metrics and flexible, scalable resourcing is impossible to ignore.
Demonstrating cost-effectiveness and innovation continues to challenge law firms, with clients expecting more value than ever before. For many firms, ALSPs have emerged as valuable partners providing their expertise, scalable resources, and creative solutions.
Similarly, corporate legal departments are grappling with mounting workloads driven by increasingly complex regulatory frameworks, rising litigation, and internal investigations. Without careful oversight, external counsel fees can escalate rapidly, adding further pressure to already stretched budgets.
A strong partnership with an ALSP offers legal teams a wealth of advantages, including access to specialised talent. The ability to provide this expertise eliminates the time and effort of recruiting and training new employees who have the requisite skillsets. Teams instead can simply tap into those available within an ALSP.
ALSPs also provide flexible resourcing options, and innovative technology solutions to support legal services delivery. These partnerships enable legal teams to manage fluctuating workloads seamlessly, tapping into expertise that may not be readily available in-house. ALSPs also bring advanced processes that streamline routine tasks like document review, significantly enhancing operational efficiency. By leveraging these resources, lawyers can focus on high-value strategic work, improve service delivery, and meet the growing expectations of their clients and internal stakeholders.
Last but certainly not least, working with an ALSP and a team of experts, with knowledge of a specific technology and advanced workflows, can help reduce implementation obstacles and help teams to both increase the speed of adoption on the return on investment of a new tech solution.
Are ALSPs an “Alternative” Option for Legal Services Today?
Historically, ALSPs faced some scepticism from the legal industry, often rooted in misconceptions about their capabilities or quality of work. We have often used the term “perceived risk”, reflecting concerns about outsourcing sensitive legal tasks or entrusting non-traditional providers with tasks which, if not done correctly, would reflect badly on the legal team.
However, a well-established partnership with an ALSP is now viewed as an invaluable asset for both law firms and corporate legal departments. ALSPs bring proven expertise in many areas and their ability to deliver consistent, high-quality results at a fraction of the cost of traditional approaches has eroded much of the doubt that once surrounding them.
As the role of ALSPs becomes more prominent, they will no longer be perceived as “alternative” but rather as integrated into the core operational strategies of law firms and legal departments.
The question for 2025 isn’t whether ALSPs will play a role in the legal industry but whether their contributions are such that they are no longer viewed as “alternative.”
Looking Ahead in 2025: ALSPs Can Help Deliver Greater Impact from AI, Faster
This year will be pivotal for legal services providers. Roles and offerings will evolve as AI technologies continue to develop, adoption gathers pace, and AI becomes embedded in legal service delivery.
As a pioneering ALSP with over 25 years in the legal industry, Integreon is well positioned to guide clients through their transition into AI enhanced services. Technology agile with deep industry expertise and supported by a team of experts from key industry sectors, Integreon is committed to providing clients with unbiased insights and support as we navigate the months ahead.
Having experienced the evolution of eDiscovery technology over the last two decades, we have a practical and pragmatic approach to review projects, strongly believing in the critical role that humans play in the process. Whilst AI may excel at reducing data sets and narrowing the focus for review, skilled professionals remain essential to ensure these processes are conducted in a defensible manner and to provide the necessary validation.
We see the year ahead as an opportunity to harness the immense potential of technology whilst providing our clients with the assurance that they are supported by a trusted partner.
