Rio Tinto signs legal services outsourcing deal with CPA Global

Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third- largest mining company has entered into a legal services outsourcing agreement with CPA Global, a provider of legal process outsourcing (LPO) services. This is projected to save Rio Tinto up to 20 per cent annually in legal costs.

Under the agreement, CPA Global will be providing a team of lawyers in India to support Rio Tinto’s in-house legal function on a global basis.

Initially, the work undertaken by CPA Global includes contract review and drafting, legal research, and document review.  However, it is anticipated that the scope of work will expand to cover other routine legal services work traditionally handled in-house by Rio Tinto or shared amongst the company’s panel of law firms.

“CPA Global’s India team will serve as an extension of Rio Tinto’s internal legal department. They are handpicked, well trained legal professionals who will work on a whole range of Rio Tinto legal matters from across the globe,” said Director, CPA Global and Country Head India, Bhaskar Bagchi.

Besides, CPA Global, the $1 billion provider of intellectual property (IP) management services and outsourced legal support services, is also expanding its footprint in India by ramping up its operations and increasing the headcount.

The company currently has around 550 people in India in its Noida and Gurgaon offices but plans to increase the India headcount to 2,000 by the end of next year.