Legal process outsourcing (LPO) isn’t new—and after decades in practice, its limitations are hard to ignore. The model allows law firms and in-house teams to delegate routine legal tasks to external service providers at lower costs, promising reduced overhead, scalability, and specialized expertise—but at what cost?
Here’s what most legal teams discover after adopting a traditional LPO: the cost savings often come with hidden trade-offs such as quality inconsistencies, communication barriers, security vulnerabilities, and a transactional vendor relationship that feels disconnected from the team’s core work.
While LPO can solve some problems, it frequently creates new ones that undermine the very efficiency gains you were seeking. This is where Axiom’s model offers a fundamentally different—and better—approach.
Elastic Talent: A Smarter Alternative to Traditional LPO
Axiom is fundamentally different from an LPO. We connect in-house legal teams with experienced, top-tier attorneys who work flexibly as part of your team. Think of it as elastic talent: the ability to expand and contract your legal resources based on actual needs, without the compromises that come with traditional LPO.
The quality of talent is the first and most important differentiator. Axiom's network consists of highly experienced attorneys, many from top law firms and in-house legal departments, with an average of 10+ years of experience. These aren't junior attorneys or recent graduates being supervised remotely; they're seasoned lawyers who can work independently and contribute from day one. Every Axiom lawyer goes through a rigorous vetting process before joining the network—Axiom selects from only the top 3% of applicants.
This commitment to excellence has earned Axiom a Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 75 for legal talent quality, more than double the legal services industry average of 37, with 99% of clients rating Axiom talent as equal or better than talent from other flexible talent providers. When you engage an Axiom attorney, you're getting someone who can hit the ground running and deliver work at the level you'd expect from a senior member of your own team.
On-demand access gives you the flexibility that traditional staffing can't match. Need someone for three months on a compliance project? Done. Want to extend the engagement or pivot to a different type of work? Easy. Axiom lawyers can work on-site at your office, remotely, or in a hybrid arrangement, whatever makes sense for the matter and your preferences. There's no lengthy procurement process or minimum commitment. You get the resources you need, when you need them, for as long as you need them.
Integration Without the Middleman Relationship
Seamless integration is built into the model. Axiom attorneys work as an extension of your team, not as a separate vendor doing work offsite. There's no middleman—you have direct communication with your Axiom lawyer, participate in team meetings together, and provide feedback in real-time. This eliminates many of the communication problems that plague traditional LPO relationships.
Our approach is technology-enabled but human-centered. We use technology to make matching, onboarding, and project management efficient, but the work itself is done by experienced attorneys using professional judgment, not algorithms or process automation. You get the efficiency benefits of modern talent platforms without sacrificing the quality and nuance that complex legal work requires.
Beyond the human expertise, Axiom now empowers its attorneys with cutting-edge AI technology through our AI Tech+Talent solution, delivering productivity gains of up to 75% and nearly $500,000 in cost savings on individual projects. Our lawyers leverage advanced AI tools like Legora for contract review and analysis, and DraftPilot for contract negotiation, enabling them to complete complex legal projects in days rather than months.
Whether it's uploading and tagging 500+ contracts into a new system in one week instead of three months, analyzing 16,000 legacy contracts ahead of a major transaction, or accelerating contract review processes by 40-60%, Axiom's AI-empowered attorneys deliver the speed and efficiency of technology with the judgment and nuance that only experienced legal professionals can provide. This combination means you're not just getting flexible talent—you're getting talent equipped with the latest AI capabilities to drive massive productivity gains and additional savings that traditional LPO simply cannot match.
The partnership approach also sets Axiom apart from transactional LPO relationships. We're invested in your success and in building long-term relationships. Many firms and legal departments work with the same Axiom attorneys repeatedly across different matters, developing continuity and institutional knowledge that traditional LPO models can't match.
Explore how legal teams are moving from transactional outsourcing to integrated, flexible talent.
The ROI Case: Flexibility That Creates Value
From a cost-benefit perspective, Axiom's model delivers strong ROI. You're paying for highly experienced talent only when you need it, without the overhead of full-time salaries, benefits, and infrastructure. The flexibility to scale up or down based on actual needs creates significant value beyond direct cost comparison.
FIGURE 1
Hiring an FTE Costs More than You Think
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Figures are based upon an employee with a base salary of $150K ; Employee Benefits & Well-being: $30K; Office & Operational Costs: $15.5K; Compensation Costs: $192K; Recruitment & Onboarding Costs: $30K; Equity Costs: $7.5K; Workspace & Facilities Costs: $15K; Exit & Turnover Costs: $45K. All figures are estimates, clients should apply their own review. Axiom talent savings based on engaging a commercial contracts lawyer with 8-11 years of experience full time for 12 months.
Axiom represents a step-change improvement over traditional LPO. We've taken the core insight that legal teams need flexible access to talent and built a model that delivers on that promise without the quality, communication, and integration compromises that define conventional outsourcing. It's not about sending work offshore or managing a vendor relationship. It's about augmenting your team with experienced attorneys who work alongside you, share your standards, and allow you to maximize your strategic impact on the business.
Ready to experience the Axiom difference? Learn how we can support your specific needs with top-tier legal talent that integrates seamlessly with your practice. And if you're a talented attorney interested in flexible, high-impact work with leading companies, explore opportunities with Axiom.