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Part - VIII

Bottlenecks

• The biggest bottleneck that is affecting the outsourcing of legal services from the US is that it requires persons trained in US law to service the work that is send from the country. And eastern countries find it a hard disposition, as the legal system in these countries is more similar to the British system than the US one.

• There are already voices raised in US and UK over this practice which is fast catching up. The UK Law Society has raised concerns about secrecy and client-confidentiality. The concern being that the Indian firm, which is doing the outsourced work, does not claim any responsibility of any possible breach of secrecy and confidentiality. Also, in USA, injunctions might be available to stem a leak and civil or criminal actions available against the guilty party. The same may not be true in India.

• Some lawyers said outsourcing could become complicated because of language difficulties between Indian lawyers and their American counterparts. They also said complicated legal work can take too long to complete because the time difference makes telephone conversations difficult when it is necessary to work out nettlesome details.

However, the cost saving in the long term and the benefits in waiting are so big that the US law firms that deal outsourcing contracts don't mind spending on training the personnel. The training programme involves in-house training, flying trainers into India, and constant supervision by senior counsel. In these cases, the Indians are lawyers with good credentials, many with US/UK law degrees and good work experience - and quick to pick up the needs of their principals.

Moreover, it's is advised that Companies should have a clearly defined process to evaluate the cost and benefits of such outsourcing. Key factors to consider are:

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*Contributed by -
Shuchi Singla,
Global Business Operations, Semester-11,
Shri Ram College Of Commerce,
University Of Delhi.