Register for MCLE Ethics Course: "Legal Outsourcing, the Ethical Implications"

On July 15, at 11:00am PST, I’m hosting an updated version of LawScribe’s MCLE Ethics accredited webinar: Legal Outsourcing, the Ethical Implications.

Only last week the ABA released their Summer issue of The International Lawyer. Offshore Legal Outsourcing was identified as a "hot topic". The International Lawyer comments that 6 Bar Association Opinions have concluded that,

“a lawyer could satisfy her ethical obligations and outsource work offshore."

However, the ABA publication goes on to address four general issues associated with legal outsourcing, namely;

1. duty of care in selection and supervision (which relates to the issue of unauthorized practice)
2. duty to maintain confidentiality
3. duty to avoid conflicts of interest
4. duty to inform the client that the delegating lawyer is outsourcing the work

All the above, and more, will be covered in my webinar.

To reserve your Webinar seat, click here.

The webinar provides attorneys with practical advice relating to the ethical implications of offshore legal outsourcing. The webinar materials have been updated to include a look at the ethical implications associated with a real large-scale document review project. The session also provides analysis of the July and August 2008 USPTO Notice re Foreign Filing Licenses and the ABA Ethics Opinion.

Attorneys from the following States will be entitled to 1 hour of MCLE Ethics credit - CA, NY, CO, FL, MO, TX, WA, WI. For those not able to attend, I will be posting the audio and slides on my blog and the LawScribe website, where the course will be available for self-study.

The following issues will be covered:

• Avoiding the Unauthorized Practice of Law
• U.S. Attorney's Supervisory Responsibilities
• Duty to Act Competently
• Client Confidentiality
• Duty to Disclose
• Conflict of Interest Implications and Risks
• Billing Appropriately for Outsourced Legal Support
• USPTO Notice re Scope of Foreign Filing Licenses
• Large scale offshore document review case study

Joining me on the faculty for the webinar is Spyros James Lazaris, head of Zuber & Taillieu LLP’s patent and trademark prosecution department. Mr. Lazaris will be providing the large scale document review case study. I’ve detailed his biography below.

Mr. Lazaris practices intellectual property litigation and counseling, and is the head of Zuber & Taillieu LLP’s patent and trademark prosecution department. He has extensive experience in all phases of patent infringement litigation. He has successfully drafted and prosecuted patents for Fortune 500 companies in diverse areas of industry and technology, both here in the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Lazaris also focuses his practice on electronic discovery issues, and assists his patent litigation clients in managing discovery obligations in the complex world of electronically-maintained corporate data. Prior to joining Zuber & Taillieu LLP, Mr. Lazaris oversaw the patent prosecution practice of the Los Angeles office of Sidley Austin LLP, one of the 20 largest law firms in the world as ranked by The American Lawyer.