Outsourcing

Hildebrandt: Cut Associate Salaries Now

“If you don’t cut associate starting salaries now, you are nuts. They were too high. Now we have to pay for it.” Bradford Hildebrandt’s admonition on costly associate salaries was repeated over and over as top law firm management met at Hildebrandt’s Law Firm Leaders Forum in San Francisco last…

Mar 9, 2009 7:17 PM CDT

After Layoffs, Some Law Firms Have 1 Staffer for Every 4 Lawyers

Cuts in legal support staff ranks have pushed the staffing ratios at some law firms to one support staffer for every four lawyers. The Connecticut Law Tribune and the Philadelphia Business Journal have stories on the change that is forcing associates to take on more legal research and other tasks…

Mar 2, 2009 5:45 PM CST

How Law Practice Will Become Like Off-the-Rack Suits

Law practice in the future will involve the mechanization of legal tasks into standard systems, creating job losses for lawyers who don’t evolve, Richard Susskind argues in his new book The End of Lawyers? Today law practice is like a custom-made suit—it is crafted to an individual client’s needs. But…

Mar 2, 2009 2:50 PM CST

Economy Hits Contract Lawyers and the Companies that Find Jobs for Them

Contract lawyers hired to do document review for law firms are feeling the pinch of a bad economy. Fewer contract jobs are available, and law firms are pressuring placement agencies to hold pay below the going rate of $35 an hour in Washington, D.C., and New York, the National Law…

Jan 12, 2009 2:41 PM CST

Outsourcing Firms Hiring as More Complex Legal Work Goes to India

Three years ago when Ankita Mullick joined the legal outsourcer Pangea3 from a Mumbai firm, she mostly spent time doing research on U.S. laws involving drug labeling. But this year, Mullick and her colleagues are working for banks on auction-rate securities. The Wall Street Journal reports in a careers section…

Nov 26, 2008 6:26 PM CST

Legal Futurist: ‘The Party is Now Over’

A futurist argues that the legal profession is about to undergo a “fundamental transformation” in which conventional legal advisers will be much less prominent and legal services will be “commoditized” and delivered more cheaply. The man making the predictions is Richard Susskind, the author of The End of Lawyers? He…

Nov 11, 2008 3:20 PM CST

A Qualified Yes

U.S. lawyers must manage outsourcing arrangements to avoid ethics concerns

Nov 2, 2008 2:30 AM CST

Find Support Group First, Then Open Office, Solo Advises

After 20 years of practice, Jane Ann Landrum decided she was ready to go solo this year after her previous law firm dissolved. But a big part of what made it possible was the support network she had in place, the Kansas City, Mo., litigator tells the Kansas City Star.…

Oct 14, 2008 5:04 PM CDT

ABA Ethics Group OKs Outsourcing, But Nixes At Least Some Fee Markups

Although the lawyer in charge remains ultimately responsible and can be held accountable if anything goes awry, those working under his or her direction don’t have to be in the same building in order to comply with professional standards. In fact, they don’t even have to be in the same…

Aug 26, 2008 12:12 AM CDT

As Big Banks Send Work to India, World Financial Centers Lose Steam

In a trend that obviously has significant implications for law firms and their clients, banks increasing are arranging for much of their work to be done outside world financial centers and, often, offshore. As they cut costs in a struggling economy, banks are also cutting jobs in New York, London…

Aug 12, 2008 7:54 PM CDT

Big UK Firms Hire Support Staff in India

Updated: Eversheds is among the major United Kingdom law firms outsourcing low-end legal work to India. Known for its willingness to take a creative approach to legal fees in its representation of Tyco International, the law firm is now outsourcing low-end legal business to India, according to Legal Week. “The…

Aug 11, 2008 3:59 PM CDT

As Lawyer Faces Trial in Wiretap Case, Others Advised to Watch PIs

Experts see a lesson for the legal profession in the criminal case against a Los Angeles lawyer accused of paying private investigator Anthony Pellicano to wiretap a client’s ex-wife. The lawyer, Terry Christensen, is scheduled to go on trial with Pellicano on July 16 on charges of wiretapping and conspiracy…

Jul 11, 2008 1:30 PM CDT

E-Discovery Disclosure Goof Waived Attorney-Client Privilege, Judge Rules

A federal magistrate in Baltimore has ruled a company sued for infringement has no attorney-client privilege in 165 documents mistakenly turned over to its opponent in e-discovery. The documents included several communications between the company Creative Pipe Inc. and its lawyers. U.S. Chief Magistrate Judge Paul Grimm ruled Creative Pipe…

Jun 4, 2008 11:12 AM CDT

Clifford Chance MP Predicts a Firm Future Less Focused on London

London’s top billing as an international financial and legal center could lose some of its luster in the foreseeable future, according to the global managing partner of Clifford Chance. “If I could wave my magic wand, in three to five years I would want to have three hubs and, if…

Jun 2, 2008 5:50 PM CDT

Indian Lawyers Handling Outsourced Work Do More Than Document Review

The market for outsourced legal work is booming in India. While lawyers there are doing a lot of routine work, they are also handling some interesting legal matters, including work for the makers of movies and television shows. The legal outsourcing industry has grown by about 60 percent a year…

May 12, 2008 12:03 PM CDT