subject: Legal Processing Outside Of The Usa [print this page] The forthcoming piece briefly examines the offshore legal processing industry and the possible advantages that can be garnered for members of the legal profession in USA.
Outsourced legal processing has been heavily discussed in recent months as the American Bar Association only recently published an ethical opinion which discussed the matter. At the time of this writing, the legal process outsourcing industry is set to act as a catalyst for significant change in the legal profession in the United States and around the world.
As counter intuitive as it seems at first glance, the outsourcing of certain legal services could provide major benefits to American attorneys practicing in the United States. For example, skilled advocates and attorneys with a highly specialized or technical practice could take on more cases as less of their time and resources are expended completing relatively minor tasks which could be outsourced to a lawyer in another jurisdiction. Also, the economies of scale which could be gained via outsourcing are quite amazing as communication technologies provide many foreign legal professionals with the opportunity to provide real time assistance through use of various forms of media.
Those attorneys in the USA who take a client's case on a contingency fee basis may learn of the advantages of outsourced legal processing more quickly than others. This could be attributed to the fact that by outsourcing those activities which do not have a direct affect on the outcome of cases or the counseling of clients the American attorney is free to provide those services which are most highly sought by clients in a particular area of practice. For example, a practicing American attorney could commit more time to complicated legal research, drafting, and courtroom advocacy if their time is no longer expended repeating relatively redundant tasks such as document review and compilation of tertiary documentation.
The efficiency of outsourced legal process should not be underestimated. As the legal profession becomes more internationally integrated it will become increasingly necessary for law firms to provide reasonably priced services to clients around the world. Outsourced legal processing provides an effective method of reducing expenses while maintaining top quality work product.
Those researching outsourced legal processing should note that there are some ethical matters which should be taken into account when contemplating the decision to use an outsourced legal processing service. Outsourced legal processing represents the next chapter in the history of the practice of law in United States of America. It is hoped that American legal professionals will utilize these innovative legal processing solutions to provide higher quality legal service to clients in the USA.
