| NY State Bar permits outsourcing | |
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| California is not the only state addressing issues related to outsourcing. The NY State Bar has permitted their attorneys to contract legal services abroad, both to foreign lawyers who are not admitted to practice in U.S. courts and to “non-lawyers” observing ethical considerations. This policy decision has come with certain conditions, the fulfillment of which is mandatory for U.S. attorneys interested in outsourcing their work to foreign entities.10 Such delegation of work is proper if a lawyer/attorney maintains a direct relationship with the client and takes professional responsibility for the work being done.11 In terms of EC 4-1 of the Lawyers Code of Professional Responsibility, a lawyer has a fiduciary duty towards his client as to confidentiality of the information supplied to him. This is also one of the major concerns for outsourcing.12 The opinion upholds the same. The attorney is required to impart training to the foreign lawyers and supervise the work assigned to them. It is critical for the attorney to understand the requirements of its client and apply his professional skill and judgment to ascertain the scope and volume of the work to be outsourced. The agreements that the attorney enters into with the service providers shall ensure the observance of the duties set out in the opinion. The attorney shall take all reasonable care and diligence to ensure the compliance of the duties set out by his employees, associates, and others whose services are utilized by the attorney. The clients should be informed in advance of the use of contracted services and shall also have disclosed the nature of the work performed by the outsourcing company for their case. | |
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| The LA Opinion and NY Opinion are indications that legal outsourcing is becoming an important and inevitable business trend in the legal field. It will not come as a surprise when other cities and other states address the issue of legal outsourcing in the near future. | |
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| LawScribe: Complete Compliance | |
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| For LawScribe, compliance with moral, ethical, and legal standards is of vital importance. It understands its client requirements and goes beyond the prescribed industry standards and parameters laid down for outsourcing client work. | |
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| LawScribe ensures compliance with ethical guidelines by entering into a service contract with its clients. LawScribe imparts full and proper training to its Indian lawyers on the practice and procedures of the U.S. Judicial System, and supervises all work assigned to them. LawScribe always asks the right questions, understands the requirements of its clients, and applies professional skill and judgment to the outsourced assignments. Contract letters with overseas employees cover security concerns arising out of legal outsourcing, including confidentiality of vital and sensitive client case information. | |
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| LawScribe always acts in the best interest of the client to: | |
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Reduce costs |
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Reduce risk |
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Provide common focus |
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Establish relationship equilibrium |
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Know the risks and manage them together with clients |
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Develop proper management systems |
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| India: A Trustworthy Destination | |
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| Although a lot of high end legal work has begun to be outsourced to India, some U.S. entities are skeptical about (a) data privacy and preserving confidentiality of the client's information and (b) the quality of work done by non-U.S. Lawyers. | |
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| Data privacy and confidentiality are areas of paramount concern and importance to the legal outsourcing industry. Presently, India does not have codified data protection laws, but various commercial forums and associations, such as NASSCOM13, are working in close association with the government to enact data protection laws that are on par with international legislation. Undoubtedly, Indian companies realize that they need to scale up their security mechanics in order to cater to these concerns. | |
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| Moreover, the work which is being done by the Indian lawyers is on a par with the deliverables of U.S. attorneys and legal professionals. In fact, associated personnel engaged in legal outsourcing are rigorously trained. Indian legal professionals have to undergo stringent training and orientation programs and are well-versed with the relevant legal stipulations in the U.S. As a result, the quality of the deliverables is not compromised and the move makes sound fiscal and business sense to all the business entities involved. | |
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| From individual companies to associations like NASSCOM, proactive measures are being taken to ensure that India's unique value proposition is "trustworthy outsourcing." Except for a couple of misrepresentation cases, there have been no major problems in India's $3.6 billion business-process outsourcing services. | |
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| Conclusion | |
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| Off-shoring legal work to less expensive alternative destinations like India is an attractive option for all concerned. It offers unparalleled time and cost-saving advantages. With a vast pool of quality lawyers with good English and legal drafting skills, countries like India have emerged as a destination of choice for legal outsourcing work. As English common law is the foundation of both the Indian and U.S. legal systems, the talent pool available is already very familiar with the legal nuances. Although estimates vary, some put the number of Indian lawyers at around 850,000, with around 300 law colleges producing 40,000 law graduates a year. Off-shoring of legal work is clearly here to stay. | |
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| In the present era, globalization has become the norm, and no industry or sector can demand or expect a protectionist regime. Geographical boundaries are shrinking day by day and the exponential development of the Internet ensures that businesses either evolve to the next level or perish. The direction, supervision, and control of the overseas legal support system has become critical to legal outsourcing. In the contemporary context, the outsourcing of legal work to economic off-destinations is a practical necessity. | |
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| Visit our website at www.law-scribe.com or contact us at info@law-scribe.com/(800) 432-0529. | |
11 See EC 3-6 of the Code.
12 See EC 3-6 of the Code.
13 See EC 4-1 of the Code.
