The Ethics of Legal Process Outsourcing to India - Is the Practice of Law a 'Noble Profession,'” or is it Just Another Business?

44 Pages Posted: 18 Jul 2011

See all articles by Aaron R. Harmon

Aaron R. Harmon

College of Law, Qatar University

Date Written: June 1, 2008

Abstract

In this Article, I analyze the emergence of LPO in India, as well as the ethical considerations raised for firms that offshore legal work. I focus on India, where the industry has evolved most rapidly, for two reasons. First, as a result of British colonization, many Indian workers speak English fluently, thereby facilitating an East-West synergy more easily than other countries. Second, India utilizes a common law system similar to what is practiced in the United States and Britain (a result of British colonization).

Since the subject of LPO has been, as of yet, relatively unexplored by legal scholars, Parts II and III are provided as an extended background on the evolution of LPO, and can be read independently of the analysis of the ethical issues contained in Part IV. Part II examines the emergence of LPO in India, placing it in the context of a larger trend of globalization and offshoring. Part III looks at LPO as an industry, evaluating several studies that predict widely disparate rates of growth over the next decade.

Readers already familiar with the LPO industry can proceed directly to Part IV, which takes the “business of law” focus explored in Parts II and III, and places it back into the context of the “profession of law.” Part IV considers LPO in conjunction with the fiduciary duties unique to the legal profession, considerations that do not arise when other industries consider sending their work offshore. Part IV analyzes the five major ethical/professional conduct issues raised by LPO: (1) unauthorized practice of law by non-lawyers; (2) conflicts of interest; (3) client confidentiality; (4) client disclosure and consent; and (5) billing issues related to outsourcing. Each of these ethical considerations is examined using three sources of authority: the Model Rules of Professional Conduct, the Formal Opinions issued by the ABA Committee on related subjects, and the recent opinion on LPO issued by the NYC Bar. In Part V, this Article assesses the efficacy of the Model Rules as applied to LPO and concludes that the present Rules are ill-equipped to deal with the unique issues posed by this new development in the “business of law.”

Keywords: ethics, legal process, outsourcing, india, model rules, professional conduct, LPO

Suggested Citation

Harmon, Aaron R., The Ethics of Legal Process Outsourcing to India - Is the Practice of Law a 'Noble Profession,'” or is it Just Another Business? (June 1, 2008). Journal of Technology Law & Policy, Vol. 13, p. 41, June 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1887197

Aaron R. Harmon (Contact Author)

College of Law, Qatar University ( email )

College of Law
Doha, 2713
Qatar

HOME PAGE: http://www.qu.edu.qa

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