The Changing Roles of the Outsourcing Lawyer

An interesting article published on the Wall Street Journal website recently, looks into the fast developing legal process outsourcing (LPO) industry in India and the increasing number of lawyers opting a career with such LPOs.

It casts an interesting eye into how the current economic recession in the U.S. is paving the way for outsourcing more routine work like legal research, due diligence and document review to an experienced foreign lawyer (for instance in India) for the price billed at the rate of U.S. paralegals, although important tasks, such as appearing in court or handling witness depositions, can't be outsourced, atleast as yet.

However basing of different country's laws in the same legal system (as that of the Indian and US laws in the British legal System), does aid the process of outsourcing work as aforesaid, to a great extent.

Though the logic that Indian lawyers often aren't licensed in the U.S., so they must be closely supervised by U.S. lawyers to comply with ethical norms holds water, all views in this regard are not supportive.

Some views are more skeptical, especially with regard to meeting of outsourcer's standards or the client's standards by the foreign service provider.

The complete text of the article can be accessed at the following link:
http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB122765161306957779-lMyQjAxMDI4MjI3NjYyNTYxWj.html

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.

New Post Graduate Program in LPO

The Post Graduate Diploma in Legal Process Outsourcing (“P.G.D.L.P.O.”) has been developed by the Indira Gandhi National Open University (“IGNOU”) and Rainmaker (a leading recruiting institution for the legal industry in India).

This diploma seeks to train law graduates in India to focus on outsourced legal services industry.

This diploma program is divided into two semesters over the course of a year. Any law graduate, or law student in the final year of the LL.B. program, may apply for enrollment. Law students will be granted the diploma only upon submission of proof of completion of their law degree.

For further details please visit the IGNOU website.

Alternatively, information on the same may be accessed at the following link:

http://www.ignouonline.ac.in/pgdlpo/

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