Integreon, a provider of knowledge and business process outsourcing to professional services companies, has today announced that has signed a "record-breaking" deal with legal and tax services specialist CMS Cameron McKenna.

Under the terms of the deal, Integreon will review Camerons' entire UK back office function, including all support departments, to establish which parts can be transferred to Integreon. This includes substantial portions of accounting and finance, human resources and training, marketing and communications, learning and development, library and information services, research, information technology, facilities and other services. The total value of services addressed by this agreement is $852 million, the legal industry's largest outsourcing agreement ever.

By outsourcing non-billable tasks to Integreon, CMS Cameron McKenna plans to focus on its core competencies of legal and tax advisory services. The move is part of the firm's strategy to create a new model for law firms. "We chose Integreon because it is the only firm with a global network of experienced professionals that can meet our needs," said Duncan Weston, managing partner for CMS Cameron McKenna.

Professor Richard Susskind, a legal industry expert and author of the 2009 book, The End of Lawyers?, commented: "This is a hugely significant development that sets the pace for the global legal market. The scale and ambition of the arrangement is remarkable, and the business case is compellingly strong - by outsourcing many of its non-core activities to Integreon, CMS Cameron McKenna should achieve major cost savings and free itself to focus more strategically on its clients and services."