Is It A Good Idea for Law Firms to Outsource Legal Work?

1. Is It A Good Idea for Law Firms to Outsource Legal Work? In its basic form outsourcing merely means using an outside contractor to complete a process that could or even used to be undertaken by the firm.  Outsource legal work is generally seen as a way to reduce overheads and improve efficiency.  However, this does not always mean it is the best solution for a business.

2. The Evolution of Ways to Outsource Legal Work Initially legal firms would handle everything on your behalf.  If they did not have enough staff or other resources to cope with your demands then they would gain more.  This is the natural way that many firms grow bigger and expand their expertise. However, with the advancement of the internet and digital communication it has become easier for legal firms to operate online and reduce overheads.  This makes it very difficult for traditional firms to compete.  The solution is to look at the costs and overheads and make savings where possible. One way in which this has become possible is to take the more mundane tasks and send them to lawyers who live in other countries; such as India.  In these places the rates of pay are dramatically lower which means the law firm can get far more work accomplished for much less expenditure.

3. The Issue When They Outsource Legal Work If a firm chooses to, outsource legal work then they may be using lawyers which offer an inferior service to the one that they are striving to achieve.  Lawyers based in other countries may be cheaper but they may not have such a detailed grasp of the complexities of the law at home.  This could cause a serious issue when you are preparing a case. When you outsource legal work you are also highlighting the fact that this is an option.  Many large businesses have seen the advantages of using foreign lawyers and will start to use them directly for the majority of their needs.  This will leave the home country lawyer completely out of the loop.  Instead of cost saving they will be left looking for work, or even disappearing.  Unfortunately many American law firms can simply not compete with the charges incurred when a firm outsources legal work.  This can quickly spell the end for many small legal firms and even put larger ones at risk.

4. Contd… Another issue which is often overlooked is the ability to get information quickly when required.  Many other countries, such as India, are not working at the same time as your local law firm.  This means that an email must be sent and then replied to before you can deal with the issue.  IN many cases this is not an issue.  However, if you are in the middle of a deal then the additional advice can be invaluable and you will not want to wait! There is no doubt that outsource legal work will reduce the overheads for legal firms.  These savings should be passed onto the customer.  However, is the reduced bill worth the potential lower quality service and the increase in unemployment in American lawyers? Source: http://www.b2bfairtradedirect.com/is-it-a-good-idea-for-law-firms-to-outsource-legal-work/