2 ms·

Not that I know of. In the US/UK you need to be a member of the bar/law-society to practice as a lawyer/solicitor (i.e. represent clients) but there is no reaso

by babul 18y ago

Not that I know of. In the US/UK you need to be a member of the bar/law-society to practice as a lawyer/solicitor (i.e. represent clients) but there is no reason why the actual work itself cannot be outsourced. In fact most of the menial work in many law firms are done by juniors (new graduates) or legal-executives ("executives" being people who have little or no law qualification but are able to do the work). In my old firm (http://www.lawdit.co.uk http://www.lawdit.co.uk), which I setup years ago with my friends, this was and still is the case in many ways. I have seen the internals of many other leading firms (Allen & Overy, Ashurst, etc.) that also do this. Hence, regardless of how powerful the legal lobby against an uptake of such outsource practice, I dare say, the bottom-line and almighty dollar will win in many cases. After all, if you are getting the same/better quality at a lower cost and faster turn-around (3 people working on a task instead of 1) what would you do? The precedents have already been set in other fields/industries so I expect it will not cause as much furore as one might imagine and will probably start with the thin end of the wedge i.e. no-win-no-fee farms. Time will tell :)

supahfly_remix 18y ago
Is a bar-member lawyer responsible for supervising the outsourced work? Can he be disbarred if something is done improperly? As an example, for outsourcing of public works projects, a professional engineer (PE) must supervise the project and is ultimately responsible for the project. That is to say, he would lose his license if the project were deemed injurious to the public, etc.
- babul 18y ago
  Yes. Possibly, depends on what is done and went wrong. In U.S. we have a few people from Florida Bar who do most U.S. related clients. Most work undertaken in our U.K. offices with the usual pre/post reviews by the senior legal team/section-head to ensure accuracy, consistency, competency etc. but most of the menial tasks can be done by others. Everyone gains: juniors acquire skills and experience, seniors save time and can focus on other tasks. Of course no work is passed until signed off etc. etc. Legal businesses in U.K. are continously audited by Law Society and other auditors/regulatory bodies so everything conforms to set standards, hence nothing to worry about for clients in these respects etc. Hope that helps :)

by babul 18y ago

supahfly_remix 18y ago

Is a bar-member lawyer responsible for supervising the outsourced work? Can he be disbarred if something is done improperly? As an example, for outsourcing of public works projects, a professional engineer (PE) must supervise the project and is ultimately responsible for the project. That is to say, he would lose his license if the project were deemed injurious to the public, etc.

babul 18y ago
Yes. Possibly, depends on what is done and went wrong. In U.S. we have a few people from Florida Bar who do most U.S. related clients. Most work undertaken in our U.K. offices with the usual pre/post reviews by the senior legal team/section-head to ensure accuracy, consistency, competency etc. but most of the menial tasks can be done by others. Everyone gains: juniors acquire skills and experience, seniors save time and can focus on other tasks. Of course no work is passed until signed off etc. etc. Legal businesses in U.K. are continously audited by Law Society and other auditors/regulatory bodies so everything conforms to set standards, hence nothing to worry about for clients in these respects etc. Hope that helps :)