Scaling a UK Litigation Practice Through Strategic Outsourcing
Client overview
Our client is a large UK-based law firm operating across litigation, motor claims and shared legal services. The firm handles high volumes of complex work for insurer and institutional clients and was experiencing sustained growth in instructions.
By early 2024, that growth was placing increasing strain on internal teams and existing infrastructure.
Client Testimonial
The Challenge
The firm faced a combination of operational constraints that will be familiar to many law practices:
- Office space limitations restricting internal headcount
- Difficulty recruiting experienced legal professionals at pace
- Rising demand from existing insurer clients alongside new instructions
- Increasing turnaround times and growing case backlogs
While demand remained strong, the firm recognised that continuing to grow using a UK-only resourcing model would create risk. They needed additional capacity quickly, but without compromising quality, compliance or control.
The firm partnered with Alpha to build a dedicated legal support team based in Durban, South Africa.
Rather than a shared or transactional model, Alpha designed a bespoke team aligned specifically to the firm’s workflows, systems and standards. The initial focus was on supporting litigation and recoveries teams, with scope to expand as confidence and capability grew.
The solution included:
- A dedicated team of 12 full-time legal support professionals
- UK-aligned training and onboarding
- Seamless integration with the firm’s case management systems
- No recruitment, infrastructure or setup overheads for the firm
This approach allowed the firm to add capacity rapidly without increasing pressure on UK leadership or support functions.
Over the following 22 months, the partnership scaled significantly as trust and performance were proven.
The Alpha-based team grew from 12 to 90 full-time staff between February 2024 and December 2025, representing a scale-up of more than 650 percent. Further growth to over 100 team members is forecast in early 2026.
During this period:
- Case backlogs reduced by approximately 70 percent
- Two new workflows were designed and delivered through the Alpha team
- The firm expanded into additional workstreams including motor accidents, credit hire and shared services
- New insurer clients were onboarded without additional UK overheads
Importantly, this growth was achieved with low attrition and consistent quality, allowing the firm to stabilise operations while continuing to grow.
Why it worked
The partnership succeeded because it focused on structure, alignment and long-term delivery rather than short-term fixes.
Key factors included:
By treating the outsourced team as an extension of the firm rather than a separate function, the business was able to unlock capacity safely and sustainably.
