Legal Commentary

CMS Cameron McKenna has signed a 10-year, ?538 million deal with California?s Integreon to outsource non-billable "middle office" services.

The services include accounting and finance, human resources and training, marketing and communications, training, library and information services, research, IT, and facilities.

The U.K.-based firm is part of Frankfurt, Germany-based CMS, which has nine member law firms and 53 offices. The parent firm employs 2,400 attorneys.

Integreon and CMS are positioning the deal as a significant shift from traditional professional services business models. Integreon even provided a quote from legal industry futurist Richard Susskind: "This is a hugely significant development that sets the pace for the global legal market," he said, suggesting the deal will free up the firm's legal and tax professionals to focus on their clients and services.