US legal blog Above the Law has published an in-depth interview with an Indian legal process outsourcing (LPO) company, providing a good insight into where LPO could take the US and UK legal markets in future.

Above the Law talked to Gururaj Potnis, the director of Manthan Legal, which claims "over 700 man-years of experience in the LPO industry".

Potnis said that US firms would have to wake up to LPO if they want to survive and offer value to clients. "Some law firms are just wanting to be blind," he told Above the Law. "There is a tremendous value potential. But people do not want to take an open view."

The business case he makes is sound on many fronts: clients will increasingly request low-level legal work to be outsourced, LPO can solve headaches for management such as underutilisation and high fixed costs, as well as keep the legal work-flow ticking over 24/7 – although one imagines many US white shoe firm associates already work almost as many hours in the week, or at least did, before the downturn.

In typically ironic, vociferous and often offensive fashion (you have been warned), Above the Law readers commented on the story in droves – currently the thread runs to 123 comments and counting.

They include the good ("Again, outsourcing is not a magic solution to every problem. But properly used, it can be a very useful tool."); the bad ("These Indian lawyers are helping to BURST THE BIGLAW BUBBLE!"); and the ugly (from a "parody of a xenophobic hick").

See today's story on Legally India about the Scottish, who see the future of Indian outsourcing in Scotland.