Legal outsourcing: What is it?
The past couple of years have seen a paradigm shift towards digital dictation by law firms which allows them to electronically distribute dictated documents to centralised document production facilities, enabling more efficient processing of documents in electronic files, rather than physical audio tapes. This has led some firms to consider where their costly document production facilities should be located and whether they should be outsourced. While outsourcing services to the legal profession are just beginning, various law firms in U.K and U.S.A are already outsourcing some document preparation, document management, limited litigation support and research. In most cases, Indian lawyers or paralegals do the work. It is seen that many Indians formally qualified or trained in US and UK law and with good work experience are fast shifting profession from active legal practice to dealing with the outsourced legal work.

Type of legal work outsourced includes :
• Preparation of pleadings and correspondence
• Legal transcription
• Transcription of recorded statements
• File organization
• Litigation preparation
• Database input for document management
• Work with experts in preparation and retrieval of reference materials
• Deposition summaries
• Interviewing of witnesses and clients to gather background information
• Verification of information given by clients and/or witnesses
• Investigation of factual matters
• Draft discovery requests and responses
• Preparation of trial notebooks.
• Chronologies of events.
• Organization and review of voluminous document production
• Copy and deliver records
• Drafting and negotiating contracts
• Conducting special reviews
• Advising boards and senior management on legal and reputational risks
• Serving as outside general counsel
• And many more research works to do.

Almost all the preparatory work and back office works of lawyers can be really outsourced to reliable hands and done at lower costs with quality maintenance.

English Law Genesis of Indian Law

English legal concepts slowly and gradually assimilated into fabric of Indian Law. Even today our legal system continues to draw its sustenance from common law doctrines and Indian legislations draw heavily from English ones. Such being the background it does not take much for a lawyer to switch over from Indian system to English system. Today outsourcing is the buzzword. According to a recent press release, UK lawyers have shifted considerable legal records jobs to India. Day is not far when chunk of paralegal services for England will be outsourced to India largely because both the legal systems are similar.

Advantages of outsourcing to India
1- India is at the forefront of outsourcing. This is due to technical maturity, cost advantages and the productivity gains firms receive. Law firms, legal departments of major corporations and state and federal government are increasingly following the BPO route to reduce cost and increase efficiency. Outsourcing allows them to remain competitive and serve more clients. It has become an indispensable asset to legal community. Today, India is one of the most exciting emerging markets in the world. Skilled managerial and technical manpower that match the best available in the world and a middle class whose size exceeds the population of the USA or the European Union, provide India with a distinct cutting edge in global competition.

2- Many large law firms are considering outsourcing some of their research and document preparation to overseas employees. Employees with law degrees in countries such as India can do great work and companies outsourcing can save a large amount of money. The majority of the work is going to India because English is spoken there, the legal system is similar to Britain’s and salaries are much cheaper. In most cases, Indian lawyers or paralegals do the work. It may only be a matter of time before outsourcing becomes a mainstream practice for the legal profession.

3- Offshore workers work for a fraction of the price, for example, could handle much of the work being done by junior associates. Use of offshore providers, the thinking goes, would allow firms to continue to handle matters profitably and give clients the discounts they demand.

4- Advances in technology mean that solicitors can drastically reduce the number of legal secretaries they employ, and shift their jobs to India for less than half the cost.

5- Indian firms are more productive because they work six days a week, not five, and they start work 5.5 hours before the UK.

6- Some solicitors believe clients might be unhappy about their legal work not being done directly by the firm they employ. But those who are promoting the idea say the cost savings will prove increasingly attractive".

Legal companies that have taken the BPO route claim benefits ranging from increased profitability to economic growth viability and improved industry stature to heightened customer centricity.

Hence the full bouquet of services right from legal services, para legal to office administration, publishing, law sites etc. all have started outsourcing their work source to India. Many in the legal community believe it is a matter of time before sending legal work out of the country becomes a mainstream practice.