ABA Ethics Committee on Outsourcing Legal Work Domestically or Internationally

The American Bar Association (ABA) has expressed positive views on outsourcing legal work and has issued, what is termed as "the conclusions of the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility".

While expressing its view that outsourcing legal work is good, the ABA has also said that U.S. lawyers are free to outsource legal work, including to lawyers or non-lawyers outside the country, if they adhere to ethics rules requiring competence, supervision, protection of confidential information, reasonable fees and not assisting unauthorized practice of law.

While commenting on the cost benefit aspects of outsourcing legal work, the ABA has also provided it's views on other related significant issues, such as those of, client-attorney privilege, superintendence of outsourced work, duties of a foreign lawyer undertaking outsourced work, requirements of informed client consent and confidentiality agreements prior to engaging a foreign lawyer, and issues of similar tone.

With respect to liability of the service provider, quiet interestingly, the ABA has stated that "if the service provider is found to be not authorized to practice law, and the outsourcing lawyer facilitated that violation, the outsourcing lawyer will have violated ethical rules."

The complete article on this subject matter may be accessed at the following website:
http://www.abanet.org/abanet/media/release/news_release.cfm?releaseid=435

The opinion is available from the ABA Center for Professional Responsibility at http://www.abanet.org/cpr.