In a press release dated September 10th, Morgan Lewis announces Morgan Lewis Resources, the firm’s “NEW ENTERPRISE TO ASSIST COMPANIES WITH FEDERAL COMPLIANCE NEEDS.” According to the release, “Morgan Lewis, one of the 10 largest U.S. law firms, today announced the launch of Morgan Lewis Resources, a major initiative to help corporate clients meet their increasingly demanding federal regulatory requirements by providing companies a full spectrum of legal risk containment products and services.” It quotes the managing partner, who says “It is our vehicle for expanding the corporate compliance, training and immigration services we already provide to offer companies the higher level of protection they need today at a reasonable cost.” The service will “provide competitive, value-added products in immigration law services, employment training, OFCCP analysis and auditing, and HIPAA related compliance, counseling and training. Morgan Lewis Resources will later offer OSHA auditing, training and compliance, and employee benefits auditing and compliance.” The firm has created a separate web site at morganlewisresources.com.

Unless I missed something on this new web site, it’s is not immediately clear how this new service differs from traditional legal services. The site references the use of “templates” and “procedures” and “checklists” though I cannot tell if these differ from what many other law firms have. One explicit reference to technology is an immigration status tracking system (see Services > Immigration); another is “specialized software and census data packages” for developing “affirmative action plans specifically tailored to our clients’ needs” (see Services > OFCCP Audit).

It’s exciting to see a law firm offering a new package of “products and services.” To me, in the legal market, this would mean offering fixed-price services or using technology (beyond shared databases and portals) to deliver interactive advice or rich content. It’s possible that I missed such offerings on this web site or that the firm will offer these in the future. I look forward to seeing what innovations this service will offer in the future. From my perspective, there is much a firm could do using technology (see a list of firms offering online legal services) that would allow offering higher-value, more cost-effective guidance than is typically available today.