LegalEase featured in Michigan Lawyers Weekly

Outsourcing attorneys
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 molly.dilbeck@mi.lawyersweekly.com.



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