By Molly F. Dilbeck, J.D.
Managing your practice
You've been there. Your computer inexplicably stopped working, and now you
have to call the 1-800 number to figure out just what is the matter. When
your call is answered, you find yourself speaking to someone on the opposite
side of the globe. Why? Because the computer company outsourced its
tech-support staff overseas.
Now, imagine calling a 1-800 number and being connected to someone in New
Delhi or Tel Aviv in an effort to discuss the finer points of your motion
for summary disposition.
Sound farfetched? Maybe not.
In our ever-shrinking world, more and more companies are shipping work out
and overseas in an effort to cut costs. For example, just recently, DuPont
announced in Business Weekly its decision to open an office in Manila ,
staffed by 30 Filipino attorneys who will be analyzing documents for pending
litigation and saving an anticipated $6 million in the process.
The cost is next to nothing, since most legal outsourcing firms charge
between $20 - $75 an hour, depending on the type of work and urgency of the
project.
Further, these firms promote their ability to save attorneys the most
valuable asset of all - their time. By farming out legal research, these
outsourcing businesses advertise their ability to enable attorneys to
practice more efficiently and take on more work with less stress and output.
Off-shore assistance
Money saved and ease of use, however, don't assuage all of the concerns that
can arise from the mere mention of outsourcing.
The idea of outsourcing causes some to conjure worst-case scenarios, such as
the loss of U.S. jobs, or the difficulty in communicating with a person in
another country regarding a problem.
Many different worries crop up when the work being outsourced is legal in
nature - including confidentiality, ethics, and the relevance of lawyers and
support staff in a constantly-changing legal community.
Not surprisingly, legal outsourcing companies don't see the cause for alarm.
In fact, these businesses contend they only want to help attorneys be more
efficient, expand their practices and save money, not displace them.
Detroit-based LegalEase Solutions, LLC, is one such company. Founded in
2004, LegalEase was formed with the aim of providing firms with a
"competitive edge by adding to their capacity without an increase in their
infrastructure costs," says the business' president and general counsel
Tariq Hafeez.
Though LegalEase is headquartered in Michigan , it also has an office in
India , where much of its work is done. Moreover, much of LegalEase's staff
is comprised of Indian attorneys.
In addition to its U.S. attorneys, LegalEase's "offshore attorneys are
qualified from the top law schools in India ," the company said in a 2005
interview with the Detroit Legal News.
Of course, the idea of a non-American attorney working on a legal document
might alarm some attorneys and clients, but LegalEase stresses it conducts
"a very stringent and robust initial training program on U.S. constitutional
law and the use of online legal databases like LexisNexis."
As "foreign" as it may seem to American lawyers, using foreign and
foreign-based attorneys to do American legal research is not unique to
LegalEase. Many companies are doing it.
Dhraj Aggarwal of India's Economical Services says his company employs the
services of Indian attorneys who are "graduates of the top law schools of
India," but "can work on the law of most countries" because the company is
an "Internet-based research organization."
Touting India as one of the "most preferred outsourcing destinations,"
Aggarwal stated his company was capable of serving as a "back-office to
U.S.-based attorneys" by providing them with "high-quality, low-cost work."
Hafeez concurs, saying his staff functions as "virtual associates" who are
"available 24/7." This availability allows attorneys to then "take on more
work or spend time doing what's most important to their practice," without
having to increase their overhead costs, he explained.
Further, Hafeez points out each project his attorneys work on is checked and
re-checked before an American attorney employed by LegalEase gives the
go-ahead for the work to be given to an attorney-client.
Nevertheless, Hafeez cautioned that "the onus lies on the attorneys to
review all the work we provide them before they choose to use it."
'American lawyers' at-large
For those who are interested in off-shoring legal work for cost and
efficiency reasons, but are not entirely comfortable with the idea of
sending sensitive legal material into the hands of a non-U.S. attorney, the
legal outsourcing market provides at least one option.
According to CEO and managing counsel Steven Ettinger, Israel-based SuperLaw
not only helps small firms "work larger" by providing them with the
"big-firm advantage," but boasts a staff of nearly 50 American attorneys who
live and work in Israel .
He explained that all SuperLaw "counselors are American law school
graduates, admitted in at least one state, and average more than 10 years of
experience."
Ethical implications
Although these firms market their ability to function as overseas
associates, all underscore they are not law firms and are not seeking to
compete with American attorneys.
LegalEase "provide[s] only support services to attorneys" and is "not a law
firm," Hafeez says of his company.
Ettinger echoes this sentiment, observing that SuperLaw works "exclusively
under the direction of our customer-lawyers" and does "not practice law
directly" for any person.
"We are no different in this regard than the many legal assistants, law
students, and associates in the employ of thousands of firms," he explained.
Further, SuperLaw takes precautions to protect the clients of its clients.
"SuperLaw will not provide services to an attorney in an area that is
outside his or her experience," Ettinger said. "For example, we will not
handle a bankruptcy appeal for a criminal practice or handle a patent claim
application for a family lawyer."
This measure is taken to protect all involved, especially because the
attorneys who employ SuperLaw "are ultimately responsible for the work
product," he explained.
Outlook for legal outsourcing
What is the verdict on these businesses? Birmingham attorney Shereef H.
Akeel believes there are real benefits to outsourcing certain types of legal
work.
In the past, Akeel has outsourced legal research to LegalEase, and found the
experience to be "positive" and the product to be "exceptional."
However, Akeel cautioned attorneys to "be careful about what you outsource."
Because "you don't want to breach any privileges, since you do not have
control of this third party," Akeel advised attorneys to research who would
be doing the work.
Hafeez says this isn't a problem and attorneys need not worry about the
security of information passed to his company in order to complete a
project.
He noted that all case information is protected on LegalEase's servers using
the "highest levels of security that technology has to offer."
Further, Akeel believes outsourcing should be kept to a minimum where a case
is fact-driven.
"The more fact-intensive the issue, the less outsourcing should be used
since the attorney working on the [issue]" needs to be well-versed on the
facts, he said, adding he would recommend outsourcing where "the research is
based on pure legal issues."
In the meantime, companies like LegalEase and SuperLaw may just be the wave
of the legal future.
With the realization that global outsourcing of important business matters
is becoming more and more accepted, Ettinger says "the need for a better
practice model is obvious," and he expects companies like his to provide
attorneys with the "resources of a big firm ... no matter how small their
practice or how relatively inexperienced" they may be.
If you would like to comment on this story, please contact Molly F. Dilbeck
at (248) 596-2700 ext. 39 or
http://us.f816.mail.yahoo.com/ym/Compose?To=molly.dilbeck@mi.lawyersweekly.c
om
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