Nothing barely legal about outsourcing
Some are saying that outsourcing applies to virtually any industry and
this could be true. Offshore outsourcing has trickled down to the legal
profession as well.
According to a local report, more and more law firms are outsourcing tasks
to India to cut on costs.
While US lawyers sleep soundly at night, Indian workers do transcribe
court proceedings, do research and even proofread law suits.
The majority of the work is going to India because English is spoken
there, the legal system is similar to America's and salaries are much
cheaper. In most cases, the work is done by Indian lawyers or paralegals.
Ironically, the anti-outsourcing backlash within the US Congress could be
traced to New Jersey when a local legislator proposed a bill seeking a
halt to state services from being outsourced overseas.
Some in the legal community believe that the concept of outsourcing legal
work is not worthwhile because it touches on ethical issues. The work is
being transported over the Internet and naturally, security issues are
being raised.
Moreover, it was noted that other problems could also arise because the
legal work would be done by those not educated in the American legal
system.
Nonetheless, the report noted that law firms are outsourcing more and more
while some are opening offices in India to handle major litigation cases.
It may only be a matter of time before outsourcing becomes a mainstream
practice for the legal profession.
