Alternative legal service providers (ALSPs) and law firms working together on a client’s legal matter is becoming the norm, but that doesn’t mean collaborations are easily sparked between the two. To avoid power struggles and claims of subpar quality, corporate legal departments must define roles and set expectations from the outset.

To be sure, the large-scale document review, transactions and M&A deals that many ALSPs are now tasked with were previously performed by various law firms working together. And even those collaborations were also contentious, noted Hilgers Graben CEO Sterling Miller, who was formerly general counsel of Travelocity, Sabre Corp., and Marketo Inc.