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.

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ABA Identifies Offshore Legal Outsourcing and Litigation Funding as "Hot Topics"

Less than one month ago I wrote a blog piece entitled: Litigation Funding and Legal Outsourcing – A Marriage of Convenience and a Glimpse into the Future. I discussed the rise to prominence of the Litigation Funding industry, during a time when the number of litigations as well as the potential cost of such litigation is rising. The gist of my piece was that by working in tandem, LPO and litigation funding possess synergistic solutions to this dilemma.

This weekend I perused with great interest the Summer issue of the ABA publication the International Lawyer (TIL). The Summer issue always contains a review of significant developments in international law over the past year (the Year-in-Review) and is prepared by the responsible Section committees. Well, in addition to the global implications of the UK’s Legal Services Act (which I have discussed numerous times, specifically in my article The Legal Services Bill and its Impact on the Legal Process Outsourcing Industry), two further subjects were identified as transnational legal practice “Hot Topics”. What might those topics be, I hear you ask?

I quote directly from TIL:

"In addition to the UK Legal Services Act the topics of litigation financing and offshore legal outsourcing were frequent topics of discussion."

The article goes on to discuss the 6 Bar Associations that have released Opinions on the subject of LPO, as well as of course the ABA Opinion from August 2008. The author comments correctly that each opinion concludes that a “lawyer could satisfy her ethical obligations and outsource work offshore." The author does go on to identify four key areas of concern, namely:

1. Duty of Care in Selection in 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


I will be hosting another MCLE Ethics accredited webinar on July 15th. The webinar, “Offshore Legal Outsourcing, the Ethical Implications”, will cover all of the issues raised by the ABA in above referenced International Lawyer Summer edition. If you are interested in signing up for the webinar please email me directly.

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LawScribe Proud to Continue ProBono Sponsorship

With LawScribe being proud sponsors of ProBono Net, Kunoor Chopra and I were delighted to be invited to both Mannatt Phelps & Phillips and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffes' downtown LA offices on 10th and 11th June respectively, to celebrate the official launch of the SoCal Pro Bono Center.

The center provides a new website that supports pro bono legal services by linking private attorneys, law students and other advocates with legal services providers throughout Southern California. Coordinators of the new venture include the Southern California Pro Bono Managers and Pro Bono Directors at the Alliance for Children's Rights, the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles, the HIV & AIDS Legal Services Alliance, Mental Health Advocacy Services, Inc., Neighborhood Legal Services of Los Angeles County, and Public Counsel. The website is located at http://www.probono.net/ca/socal/.

The SoCal Pro Bono Center is part of the national Pro Bono Net network. Pro Bono Net is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing access to justice through innovative uses of technology and increased volunteer lawyer participation. More than 50,000 lawyers and other advocates are registered members of Pro Bono Net websites.

At LawScribe we are committed to continuing our ongoing support and sponsorship of Probono.net. We have always strived to be at the forefront of innovative initiatives across the LPO industry. Increasing our own involvement within Probono.net, and in turn calling upon other LPOs to do the same is merely an extension of these initiatives. Probono.net announced LawScribe's sponsorship earlier this year with the following linked press release.

"At a time when the need for legal aid is increasing tremendously, we truly appreciate LawScribe's support," said Mark O'Brien, Executive Director of Pro Bono Net. "The commitment of LawScribe and our other sponsors enables Pro Bono Net to continue connecting people in need with free legal assistance, and to develop new programs that allow pro bono and legal aid organizations to respond to emergent needs."

If any of my peers within the industry would like to find out more about how they can support Probono.net feel free to email me.

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Managing Partners on Outsourcing, Cost Control, Indian Liberalization, and Law Firms of the Future

The annual Global Managing Partners Summit in London, chaired by Law Society vice-president Robert Heslett and Law Society Gazette editor Paul Rogerson, revealed a staggering reduction in the demand for legal services among leading US law firms. In the first quarter of this year demand shrank by 6% compared with the first quarter of 2008, while the average hours billed per lawyer fell 8.2%.

Managing partners from the world’s leading law firms were responding to the challenge by embracing outsourcing and cost control. Check out the excellent review of proceedings in the Law Gazette article “Global Managing Partners Summit”.

I’ve highlighted below a handful of the most relevant quotes.

‘I see no reason why fee-earners shouldn’t have a secretary based in India,’ .......‘If it’s not high value, we will move it to another location,’ …….Indian lawyers are often as good as, if not better, than English lawyers.’ David Childs (global managing partner at magic circle firm Clifford Chance).

‘Outsourcing will play an increasing role in removing aspects of front-office, not just back-office, work,’ ........‘Some general counsel at investment banks carry out 80% of their equity research in India. This makes them well aware of the potential for outsourcing legal work.’ Tony Williams, (principal at legal management consultancy Jomati).

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Who Said Clients Can Be Demanding?

I rarely, if ever post "funnies" on this blog, however the video linked here, is well worth a look. I'm sure LawScribe isn't the only outsourcing provider for whom this skit will raise a wry smile.

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