One of the grounds on which legal outsourcing is most vociferously criticized is its ethics. Much has been said for and against it but the fact remains that LPO is now a reality and a fast growing one at that.
Among all the discussions and arguments for and against it, the New York City Bar Association confirmed that there was nothing unethical in outsourcing legal works to overseas lawyers, paralegal, or others as long as it is properly supervised.
[Read more →]

Every legal outsourcing deal must begin with a contractual agreement. This will define how the outsourcing legal firm and the LPO vendor or service provider will function together.
When drawing up such a contractual agreement it is vitally important to have specific procedures and detailed plans in the event of things going wrong included.
This legally binding document will have three significant dates signed by both parties. They are the signature date, the date from when the contract terms will become active and the service commencement date which marks when the vendor will initiate the services.
[Read more →]

Although every one who decides to outsource starts out with the highest expectations they are sometimes disappointed with the outcome. There may be several reasons for this but perhaps, the most common is a breakdown in the relationship between the customer and the service provider.
It is but natural for both parties to want to safeguard their interests but how do they do this without putting the relationship in peril?
Well there are certain precautions one can take to ensure a breakdown in the relationship doesn’t happen.
[Read more →]

At the IBM Rational Software Development Conference last year the main hurdles experienced when outsourcing or offshoring projects to countries like China and India was a hot topic of discussion. One that came to the forefront was Communication.
Communication is one of the most important issues for any offshore outsourced project but the differences in culture will more often than not prove to be a stumbling block. So also could time zone differences. The Rational Conference panel advised outsourcers to use the Rational ClearCase version control tool, and the Rational ClearQuest bug tracking tool among others to help them through this. They advise that these tools can be used to facilitate communicating and coordination with the service providers.
Rational ClearCase allows the outsourcer to revise controls and configure management of the source code and other software development features. It is capable of handling projects with as many developers as there may be. It can be configured to support a large number of SCM (Supply Chain Management) needs. However it can turn out to be pretty expensive for small enterprises.
Rational ClearQuest is a workflow automation tool, particularly its bug tracking system. It can be used to create ordered steps for resources assigned to specific goals.
Originally designed to track bugs in software development projects, it permits a company to organize tasks that are connected to new features.
Alternatively, since these software are pretty expensive, one could decide upon using open source software such as Geeklog, Wiki, Bugzilla and CVS instead. Although they are normally used in IT offshoring projects they could be used in other projects as well.

The real estate sub prime crisis may be bad news for those at home but it’s good news for legal process outsourcing firms (LPOs) in India.
Over burdened with the innumerable numbers of mortgage cases and bankruptcy filings and the paper work they entail, US firms have stepped up outsourcing the work to Indian firms that have proved themselves up to the task. Now, not only are these firms busying themselves with the regular filing, processing and claims tasks they do as a matter of course, but are also undertaking jobs connected to legal analytics, discovery and litigation support, and first-line document drafting.
India has over 200 LPO firms besides its service providers such as Infosys and Wipro to choose from for this. Top of the class are Pangea3, OfficeTiger, Mindcrest , Evalueserve, Integreon, and SDD Global.
[Read more →]

One of the greatest worries for any firm, more so a legal one, is a data breach. Studies have shown that in the last two and a half years more than 200 million records have been breached.
Not only does the firm suffer a loss but it is also obliged to make the data breach known to the respective customer, which normally takes about a month to happen, and can be pretty damaging.
It is, therefore, of vital importance for a firm to plan how it is going to protect all sensitive data and what measures it will take in the case of an incident such as a data breach occurring.
First of all be very sure about the law, both Federal and local. Very often, laws are changed, added to, or modified. If dealing with an interstate or international case of a data breach, you will have to be fully aware of all the laws of all the places involved, even the seemingly unimportant ones. Different states have different definitions of what constitutes a breach of confidence or data loss. Others have different laws with regard to the hierarchy for notifying the various people/organizations affected by it.
[Read more →]

The concept of Knowledge Cities is becoming increasingly popular and several such centers are being planned all over the world.

Not to be outdone, India is going to have its own spanking new Silicon Valley quite soon. Parsvnath Developers Limited (PDL) along with Mr. Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder Hotmail, and HSIIDC ( Haryana State Industrial Development Corporation) will be developing a knowledge city across 11,000 acres in Panchkula near Chandigarh, 200 km north of Delhi, India’s capital. To be named Parsvnath Nano City, the knowledge city’s world-class infrastructure will sustain a modern lifestyle and will be chiefly involved in the creation of Intellectual Capital.
The master plan for the city has been developed by BgAP - Berkeley Group for Architecture & Planning, which is an incorporated group of professionals, faculty, students, alumni and other affiliates of the University of California at Berkeley.
The city is being valued at Rs. 50,000 crore or US$ 12 billion, and is to be completed in ten years.
Chairman of Parsvnath Developers, Mr. Pradeep Jain, states, “This prestigious project will not only validate the investment and business environment of the region, but also firmly establish the region as an international investment destination.”
The city will have four districts- the IT district, the university district, the airport district and the biotech district.

Its educational and research institutions including universities, R&D centers and Bio-technology centers, will be of the highest caliber.

Catering to the recreational aspect there will be an 18 hole championship golf course, nature trails, forests, parks and sports centers.

It is anticipated that world-class companies involved in the creation of Intellectual Property will be drawn to it and that it will be a focal point for companies operating in areas such as Nano Sciences, Software Development, Bio-Technology, Next generation Drug Discovery, Energy Research and Semiconductor Research.

For those who are concerned about off shoring jobs resulting in fewer jobs for those at home, there’s heartening news.
Economists at the British University of Nottingham note that quite the contrary is happening. Off shoring of work to India by British companies has actually resulted in more jobs in Britain itself. This should allay the fears of the Unions that are up in arms about outsourcing.
In their research of the matter, GEP, ( the Globalisation and Economic Policy Centre ), discovered that the effectiveness of such off-shoring has, on the contrary, proved to advance business as a result of which, more, and not fewer, people are being employed by those companies.
[Read more →]

Ah, the Black Book of Outsourcing and its lists! How we hang on its every word! And well we should. Awarded “the number one outsourcing vendor ranking” by CIO magazine in April 2008, and considered “the most comprehensive publication on outsourcing” its stringent process for arriving at this ranking is now well known.
What honor, then to be at the top of the list! And that is what LawScribe, Inc can now lay claim to.
Having been awarded first rank in the Legal Process Outsourcing “Support, Transcription and Legal Document Management” category, and standing fourth in the overall ranking across the entire LPO industry, in its 2008 survey of LPO vendors and advisors, LawScribe, Inc has every reason to be elated. Such an honor is not uncommon for the company, however, that now has a distinguished reputation worldwide.
[Read more →]

ValueNotes Database, a foremost provider of business intelligence and research in India, works with clients globally and has a considerable knowledge and understanding of international markets.

According to research carried out by the company it calculates that offshored patent services to India in 2007 brought in revenues amounting to $46 million.
It also estimates that the revenue will grow a further 35% in the next five years and will be about $206 million.
[Read more →]