There is an interesting write-up on the issue of hour billing exercise done by lawyers. The writer has used an excellent analogy to draw home the point that charging by hour is a sure way of driving your clients away from even the periphery of your office.
One needs to understand the fact that payment of services should be based on the value addition done by the service provider rather than the number of hours the person has spent in courtship with the project. Not to miss the point that value addition is to make customer delighted by the quality legal work and not stump him/her by the record of every second spent in making fancy labels under which he could be charged.
The client is the king. And I think that the king can be impressed when you can act as an advisor and tell him ways by which he can get the best out of every deal he strikes. So don-up your thinking caps to provide solutions to challenges in their business and let that separate you from other players in the field.
Friday, February 27, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
INDIAN LAWYERS DO IT AGAIN!
Legal Outsourcing Team Drafts Major Brief in U.S. Litigation
You may recall from last year how a motion to dismiss, drafted entirely in India by SDD Global Solutions and Acumen Legal Services, resulted in a quick withdrawal of the anti-legal-outsourcing lawsuit, Newman McIntosh & Hennessey v. Bush, in Washington D.C. Federal Court.
Well, it looks like Team India is doing it again. Indian lawyers at SDD Global drafted, and are credited by name in, the summary judgment brief for dismissal of Doe v. HBO, a high-profile libel litigation in Los Angeles. For a copy of this excellent, page-turner of a brief, click here. The lawsuit was filed against Sacha Baron Cohen(of Borat fame), the Channel Four Television network, and HBO’s “Da Ali G Show.” In the case, a woman who once knew comedian Sacha Baron Cohen claims that Cohen, while playing the role of the television character, “Ali G,” libeled her by name during a spoof interview with historian Gore Vidal. Suing under the legal pseudonym, “Jane Doe,” the plaintiff claims that Cohen, as “Ali G,” falsely claimed to have had sexual relations with her. In the brief drafted entirely in India, the defense argues as follows:
"No reasonable person could have believed the statements, given that they were made by what the plaintiff now admits is a 'fictional character,' in the context of a series of absurd and unbelievable jokes, in what she admits is a 'comedy,' where the actor never steps out of his fictional role. This is confirmed by the fact that the plaintiff has no evidence that anyone believed any of the statements, much less the statement at the core of this lawsuit, namely, that the plaintiff had sex with a fictional character. As a matter of California and U.S. constitutional law, such statements are not actionable."
The case is historic, and not only because it is one of the first “libel-in-fiction” cases in the television context. The case is important also because it is the first high-profile, U.S. media litigation in which the legal research and first drafts of the motion papers for the defense were completed entirely off-shore, by Indian attorneys at a legal outsourcing company. The lead counsel for the defense, New York-based SmithDehn LLP, supervised the work and appeared in court on behalf of the moving party, Channel Four Television Corporation (which, incidentally, developed and produced Slumdog Millionaire). Also present in the courtroom was Padma Shanthamurthy, SDD Global team leader, who traveled from her home in Mysore, India to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York to assist with oral arguments and depositions in the case.
One of SmithDehn’s founders, veteran media lawyer and Harvard Law School graduate Frank Dehn, told this blog that “without legal outsourcing, mounting a defense against this baseless lawsuit would not have made economic sense. As so often happens, the defendants simply would have paid the plaintiff to go away. This would have been just to avoid U.S. legal fees, even though the case has no merit. But with a team of excellent, U.S. law-trained, Indian attorneys doing most of the work, it was less expensive for our client to fight the suit, than it would have been to settle.”
Sanjay Bhatia, SDD Global’s Head of Operations, emphasized that “this is a case where outsourcing created more work in the U.S., rather than less. Because our team made the defense affordable, U.S. lawyers were able to do the things in the U.S. that they do best there, such as strategizing, supervising, editing, and appearing in court. The implications of this case are huge. With legal outsourcing, baseless lawsuits can be defeated on the merits, instead of settled simply out of fear of legal fees.”
Kudos to the "Ali G" team in India, a decision on the "Ali G" motion is expected in late April. Stay tuned!
You may recall from last year how a motion to dismiss, drafted entirely in India by SDD Global Solutions and Acumen Legal Services, resulted in a quick withdrawal of the anti-legal-outsourcing lawsuit, Newman McIntosh & Hennessey v. Bush, in Washington D.C. Federal Court.
Well, it looks like Team India is doing it again. Indian lawyers at SDD Global drafted, and are credited by name in, the summary judgment brief for dismissal of Doe v. HBO, a high-profile libel litigation in Los Angeles. For a copy of this excellent, page-turner of a brief, click here. The lawsuit was filed against Sacha Baron Cohen(of Borat fame), the Channel Four Television network, and HBO’s “Da Ali G Show.” In the case, a woman who once knew comedian Sacha Baron Cohen claims that Cohen, while playing the role of the television character, “Ali G,” libeled her by name during a spoof interview with historian Gore Vidal. Suing under the legal pseudonym, “Jane Doe,” the plaintiff claims that Cohen, as “Ali G,” falsely claimed to have had sexual relations with her. In the brief drafted entirely in India, the defense argues as follows:
"No reasonable person could have believed the statements, given that they were made by what the plaintiff now admits is a 'fictional character,' in the context of a series of absurd and unbelievable jokes, in what she admits is a 'comedy,' where the actor never steps out of his fictional role. This is confirmed by the fact that the plaintiff has no evidence that anyone believed any of the statements, much less the statement at the core of this lawsuit, namely, that the plaintiff had sex with a fictional character. As a matter of California and U.S. constitutional law, such statements are not actionable."
The case is historic, and not only because it is one of the first “libel-in-fiction” cases in the television context. The case is important also because it is the first high-profile, U.S. media litigation in which the legal research and first drafts of the motion papers for the defense were completed entirely off-shore, by Indian attorneys at a legal outsourcing company. The lead counsel for the defense, New York-based SmithDehn LLP, supervised the work and appeared in court on behalf of the moving party, Channel Four Television Corporation (which, incidentally, developed and produced Slumdog Millionaire). Also present in the courtroom was Padma Shanthamurthy, SDD Global team leader, who traveled from her home in Mysore, India to Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York to assist with oral arguments and depositions in the case.
One of SmithDehn’s founders, veteran media lawyer and Harvard Law School graduate Frank Dehn, told this blog that “without legal outsourcing, mounting a defense against this baseless lawsuit would not have made economic sense. As so often happens, the defendants simply would have paid the plaintiff to go away. This would have been just to avoid U.S. legal fees, even though the case has no merit. But with a team of excellent, U.S. law-trained, Indian attorneys doing most of the work, it was less expensive for our client to fight the suit, than it would have been to settle.”
Sanjay Bhatia, SDD Global’s Head of Operations, emphasized that “this is a case where outsourcing created more work in the U.S., rather than less. Because our team made the defense affordable, U.S. lawyers were able to do the things in the U.S. that they do best there, such as strategizing, supervising, editing, and appearing in court. The implications of this case are huge. With legal outsourcing, baseless lawsuits can be defeated on the merits, instead of settled simply out of fear of legal fees.”
Kudos to the "Ali G" team in India, a decision on the "Ali G" motion is expected in late April. Stay tuned!
Thursday, February 19, 2009
White Paper - LegalEase Solutions: Ethical Imperatives in an LPO (Part I: Conflict checking)
LegalEase Solutions has started a novel and much appreciated series of whitepapers on Ethical considerations for those involved in procuring and providing LPO services. Here is the first part in this series which relates to controls for conflict checking in an LPO vendor's operations.
Legal Process Outsourcing companies supplement both in-house and firm-based attorneys by performing a variety of legal services – including legal research and writing, deposition summaries, contract and document drafting and reviewing, pre-litigation support, drafting of memorandum, preparation of trial and appellate-level pleadings and briefs, and discovery and patent services.
Bar committees in New York City, Los Angeles County, and San Diego County have all ruled that "lawyers may contract with foreign lawyers not admitted to practice in any jurisdiction in the United States… to perform legal work for U.S. clients."1
As increasing numbers of in-house counsel and firm-based attorneys evaluate the significant cost savings offered by LPOs, they must also factor into consideration an LPO’s commitment to thoroughly upholding the ethical obligations lawyers implicitly owe their clients. Because, while utilizing an LPO may result in efficiencies and significant cost savings, those benefits are meaningless if the outsourcing results in an ethical breach such as conflicts of interest.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest can generally be defined as a situation where a person in a position of trust (such as a lawyer) has actual or potential competing interests (professional or personal) that make it difficult for that person to fulfill his/her duties to a client in an impartial manner.
In the legal profession, a law firm is prohibited, by the duty of loyalty owed to a client, from representing any other party with interests that are adverse to those of any current client. The most common example of this is the fact that the same law firm will not represent opposing parties in a case. The actual or even potential existence of a conflict of interest can create an appearance of impropriety, undermining the client’s confidence in the firm.
Conflict Checking
In terms of legal process outsourcing, the New York City Bar’s statement opined that "[a]s a threshold matter, the outsourcing …lawyer should ask the intermediary, which employs or engages an overseas non-lawyer, about its conflict checking procedures and about how it tracks work performed for other clients." 2
When evaluating the value of an intermediary LPO, one of the primary concerns expressed by in-house and firm-based counsel alike is the avoidance of conflicts of interest. Attorneys know that conflict checking can be substantial even within a single firm, so there is legitimate cause for consideration when contemplating employing an LPO that could potentially be providing similar services to a number of firms. This is why it is imperative for an LPO – as both a duty of loyalty and as a professional tenant – to design and implement comprehensive conflict checking systems.
Internal Protocol
Before an LPO even enters into conversations with counsel, the LPO should have an initial foundation in place to ensure ethical conduct. This starts with education and training in conflict avoidance for each employee, onshore and offshore.
Training should include an employee handbook with written protocol emphasizing the ethical requirements for conflict avoidance. And while a thorough overview is the first part of the internal foundation, it is of little value without a proactive policy for conflict disclosure. providing the legal edge
The protocol for disclosure should cast a wide net, requiring disclosure on any actual or possible conflict of interest from any employee assigned to a project. This disclosure requirement should include the existence of any actual or potential conflicting interest, whether personal or professional. Any such disclosure must be made at the beginning of the project or as soon as the actual or potential conflict is recognized.
Information Collection
"A legal outsourcing company should have a conflicts checking procedure in place that… includes avoidance of a concurrent conflict of interest with a client already engaged, and avoidance of a significant risk that the representation of one client may be materially limited by responsibilities to another client."3
Once the value of distributing work to an LPO as been established, it is vital for both the LPO and the client’s counsel to ensure sufficient communication to allow for viable conflict checking.
To achieve this level of communication, it is helpful to have a tool in place at the outset to gather high level information and keywords (ranging from the clients’ business names and principal names, to client subsidiary or parent companies, to business sectors, to the nature of the legal proceeding). A detailed Work Product Request Form can collect these high level keywords and allow for more thorough conflict checking.
Of course, non-disclosure agreements should be in place with every employee of an LPO to allow the client’s counsel to comfortably provide enough searchable data to avoid conflicts.
Electronic Referencing
"A law firm shall keep records of prior engagements… and shall have a policy implementing a system by which proposed engagements are checked against current and previous engagements…"4 providing the legal edge
Data from the Work Product Request Forms should then be used to populate and maintain a searchable database with keywords and summaries of each client and case.
As an alternative to custom databases, many time and billing software programs contain a conflict of interest functionality. When evaluating a time and billing software program, an LPO should thoroughly QA the conflict checking functionality.
Summarization
Legal Process Outsourcing companies are doubly indebted – to the client and to the client’s counsel – to uphold ethical standards. Conflict checking should be thoroughly pursued by employing internal measures (training, written protocols, and non-disclosure agreements), detailed work process request forms to capture searchable data, and effective electronic referencing via project databases or time/billing software programs.
1 Steven J. Mintz, Ethics Opinions Allow Foreign Legal Outsourcing, ABA Litig. News Online, July 2007, at: http://www.abanet.org/litigation/litigationnews/2007/july/0707_article_outsourcing.html providing the legal edge
2 NYCBA, Formal Op. 2006-3
3 American Bar Association Model Rule of Professional Conduct 1.7.
4 DR 5 – 105(E), New York Lawyers Code of Ethical Responsibility
Press Release: Clutch Group Embraces New Law Opening India to Foreign Law Firms
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 17th, 2009) India’s newly enacted Limited Liability Partnership Act permits increased involvement by international law firms in the Indian legal market. Section 59 of the LLP Act allows foreign law firms to establish a place of business within India.
India could become one of the fastest growing legal markets in the world
“Although foreign lawyers still may not practice law in India, the Indian government has taken an essential first step in opening the country’s legal market,.” says Abhi Shah CEO of Clutch Group, a global legal solutions company. “This change will enable foreign law firms to lay the foundation for future offices in India. The LLP Act could transform India’s legal market into one of the fasting growing in the world.”
“Clutch Group helps clients navigate the new landscape”
In Shah’s view, “This legislation has important implications for legal outsourcing companies, and Clutch Group is positioned to benefit as foreign law firms focus on India.” Several of Clutch Group’s more than 50 AmLaw clients have already inquired about how Clutch Group can help navigate the new landscape. Shah says, “There is a bond of trust between Clutch Group and its law firm clients. They rely on us to understand the politics, business and ethics of India as they pursue new opportunities there.”
Clutch Group is broadening its focus to facilitate collaboration between Indian and foreign law firms made possible by the LLP Act. Shah points out that “Clutch Group’s skilled attorney workforce and sophisticated operational infrastructure will provide valuable support as a local partner on the ground for foreign law firms.”
A 1995 court ruling had blocked foreign legal practices
Legal experts say it is too early to assess the full impact of the new government policy. However, it is presumed that additional regulations must be put in place before any foreign law firms establish operations in India.
A 1995 order by the Bombay High Court restrained foreign law firms from setting up shop in India and it remains a controversial issue.
In the early nineties, some international firms had set up ‘liaison offices’ in India. However a lack of clear regulations for foreign attorneys and pressure from their clients to do more legal work here, led to friction with Indian lawyers. This culminated in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by the Lawyers’ Collective. A provisional ruling of the Bombay High Court in 1995 declared that Indian advocates not only had exclusive rights of audience in the Indian courts, but also a monopoly of advising on any law, Indian or foreign, in India. The High Court decision made it clear that establishing a firm for rendering legal assistance and/or for executing documents, negotiations and settlements of documents would certainly amount to practice of law.
About Clutch Group
Clutch Group is a global provider of legal solutions, with expertise in cost-effective litigation document review, compliance, contract management, and legal research services, to Fortune 500 clients and leading global law firms. Clutch Group ranks as the #1 Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firm worldwide in the 2008 Black Book of Outsourcing and is listed as the top legal outsourcing company by Dun & Bradstreet. Clutch Group's workforce comprises more than 300 attorneys and paralegals across the United States and India. The company is led by a team with legal expertise, extensive domestic and offshore outsourcing experience, and superior law firm management skills
India could become one of the fastest growing legal markets in the world
“Although foreign lawyers still may not practice law in India, the Indian government has taken an essential first step in opening the country’s legal market,.” says Abhi Shah CEO of Clutch Group, a global legal solutions company. “This change will enable foreign law firms to lay the foundation for future offices in India. The LLP Act could transform India’s legal market into one of the fasting growing in the world.”
“Clutch Group helps clients navigate the new landscape”
In Shah’s view, “This legislation has important implications for legal outsourcing companies, and Clutch Group is positioned to benefit as foreign law firms focus on India.” Several of Clutch Group’s more than 50 AmLaw clients have already inquired about how Clutch Group can help navigate the new landscape. Shah says, “There is a bond of trust between Clutch Group and its law firm clients. They rely on us to understand the politics, business and ethics of India as they pursue new opportunities there.”
Clutch Group is broadening its focus to facilitate collaboration between Indian and foreign law firms made possible by the LLP Act. Shah points out that “Clutch Group’s skilled attorney workforce and sophisticated operational infrastructure will provide valuable support as a local partner on the ground for foreign law firms.”
A 1995 court ruling had blocked foreign legal practices
Legal experts say it is too early to assess the full impact of the new government policy. However, it is presumed that additional regulations must be put in place before any foreign law firms establish operations in India.
A 1995 order by the Bombay High Court restrained foreign law firms from setting up shop in India and it remains a controversial issue.
In the early nineties, some international firms had set up ‘liaison offices’ in India. However a lack of clear regulations for foreign attorneys and pressure from their clients to do more legal work here, led to friction with Indian lawyers. This culminated in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by the Lawyers’ Collective. A provisional ruling of the Bombay High Court in 1995 declared that Indian advocates not only had exclusive rights of audience in the Indian courts, but also a monopoly of advising on any law, Indian or foreign, in India. The High Court decision made it clear that establishing a firm for rendering legal assistance and/or for executing documents, negotiations and settlements of documents would certainly amount to practice of law.
About Clutch Group
Clutch Group is a global provider of legal solutions, with expertise in cost-effective litigation document review, compliance, contract management, and legal research services, to Fortune 500 clients and leading global law firms. Clutch Group ranks as the #1 Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firm worldwide in the 2008 Black Book of Outsourcing and is listed as the top legal outsourcing company by Dun & Bradstreet. Clutch Group's workforce comprises more than 300 attorneys and paralegals across the United States and India. The company is led by a team with legal expertise, extensive domestic and offshore outsourcing experience, and superior law firm management skills
Press Release: Clutch Group Embraces New Law Opening India to Foreign Law Firms
WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 17th, 2009) India’s newly enacted Limited Liability Partnership Act permits increased involvement by international law firms in the Indian legal market. Section 59 of the LLP Act allows foreign law firms to establish a place of business within India.
India could become one of the fastest growing legal markets in the world
“Although foreign lawyers still may not practice law in India, the Indian government has taken an essential first step in opening the country’s legal market,.” says Abhi Shah CEO of Clutch Group, a global legal solutions company. “This change will enable foreign law firms to lay the foundation for future offices in India. The LLP Act could transform India’s legal market into one of the fasting growing in the world.”
“Clutch Group helps clients navigate the new landscape”
In Shah’s view, “This legislation has important implications for legal outsourcing companies, and Clutch Group is positioned to benefit as foreign law firms focus on India.” Several of Clutch Group’s more than 50 AmLaw clients have already inquired about how Clutch Group can help navigate the new landscape. Shah says, “There is a bond of trust between Clutch Group and its law firm clients. They rely on us to understand the politics, business and ethics of India as they pursue new opportunities there.”
Clutch Group is broadening its focus to facilitate collaboration between Indian and foreign law firms made possible by the LLP Act. Shah points out that “Clutch Group’s skilled attorney workforce and sophisticated operational infrastructure will provide valuable support as a local partner on the ground for foreign law firms.”
A 1995 court ruling had blocked foreign legal practices
Legal experts say it is too early to assess the full impact of the new government policy. However, it is presumed that additional regulations must be put in place before any foreign law firms establish operations in India.
A 1995 order by the Bombay High Court restrained foreign law firms from setting up shop in India and it remains a controversial issue.
In the early nineties, some international firms had set up ‘liaison offices’ in India. However a lack of clear regulations for foreign attorneys and pressure from their clients to do more legal work here, led to friction with Indian lawyers. This culminated in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by the Lawyers’ Collective. A provisional ruling of the Bombay High Court in 1995 declared that Indian advocates not only had exclusive rights of audience in the Indian courts, but also a monopoly of advising on any law, Indian or foreign, in India. The High Court decision made it clear that establishing a firm for rendering legal assistance and/or for executing documents, negotiations and settlements of documents would certainly amount to practice of law.
About Clutch Group
Clutch Group is a global provider of legal solutions, with expertise in cost-effective litigation document review, compliance, contract management, and legal research services, to Fortune 500 clients and leading global law firms. Clutch Group ranks as the #1 Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firm worldwide in the 2008 Black Book of Outsourcing and is listed as the top legal outsourcing company by Dun & Bradstreet. Clutch Group's workforce comprises more than 300 attorneys and paralegals across the United States and India. The company is led by a team with legal expertise, extensive domestic and offshore outsourcing experience, and superior law firm management skills
India could become one of the fastest growing legal markets in the world
“Although foreign lawyers still may not practice law in India, the Indian government has taken an essential first step in opening the country’s legal market,.” says Abhi Shah CEO of Clutch Group, a global legal solutions company. “This change will enable foreign law firms to lay the foundation for future offices in India. The LLP Act could transform India’s legal market into one of the fasting growing in the world.”
“Clutch Group helps clients navigate the new landscape”
In Shah’s view, “This legislation has important implications for legal outsourcing companies, and Clutch Group is positioned to benefit as foreign law firms focus on India.” Several of Clutch Group’s more than 50 AmLaw clients have already inquired about how Clutch Group can help navigate the new landscape. Shah says, “There is a bond of trust between Clutch Group and its law firm clients. They rely on us to understand the politics, business and ethics of India as they pursue new opportunities there.”
Clutch Group is broadening its focus to facilitate collaboration between Indian and foreign law firms made possible by the LLP Act. Shah points out that “Clutch Group’s skilled attorney workforce and sophisticated operational infrastructure will provide valuable support as a local partner on the ground for foreign law firms.”
A 1995 court ruling had blocked foreign legal practices
Legal experts say it is too early to assess the full impact of the new government policy. However, it is presumed that additional regulations must be put in place before any foreign law firms establish operations in India.
A 1995 order by the Bombay High Court restrained foreign law firms from setting up shop in India and it remains a controversial issue.
In the early nineties, some international firms had set up ‘liaison offices’ in India. However a lack of clear regulations for foreign attorneys and pressure from their clients to do more legal work here, led to friction with Indian lawyers. This culminated in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) brought by the Lawyers’ Collective. A provisional ruling of the Bombay High Court in 1995 declared that Indian advocates not only had exclusive rights of audience in the Indian courts, but also a monopoly of advising on any law, Indian or foreign, in India. The High Court decision made it clear that establishing a firm for rendering legal assistance and/or for executing documents, negotiations and settlements of documents would certainly amount to practice of law.
About Clutch Group
Clutch Group is a global provider of legal solutions, with expertise in cost-effective litigation document review, compliance, contract management, and legal research services, to Fortune 500 clients and leading global law firms. Clutch Group ranks as the #1 Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) firm worldwide in the 2008 Black Book of Outsourcing and is listed as the top legal outsourcing company by Dun & Bradstreet. Clutch Group's workforce comprises more than 300 attorneys and paralegals across the United States and India. The company is led by a team with legal expertise, extensive domestic and offshore outsourcing experience, and superior law firm management skills
Friday, February 13, 2009
Press Release: Legal Circle appoints industry veterans to further solidify its presence in the LPO space
New Delhi, 9th February, 2009 - Legal Circle, a leading legal process outsourcing organization, today announced the appointment of Kenneth Gunning, US Attorney as Vice President – Operations, Legal Circle and Edward Turner as the Director, U.S Operations for Legal Circle.
This is a part of well thought out expansion plans in its operations while announcing the strategic appointments of industry veterans to provide further impetus to its growth plans.
Kenneth is a US attorney and a pioneer in the litigation support industry, brings with him extensive experience in all aspects of the litigation vertical including electronic discovery, document review and information management. While Edward, a retired Senior Partner with Shearman and Sterling’s Asian practice, has a wealth of experience in the field of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, project development and project finance in Asian markets. He would be combining his previous experiences in the industry at various top positions for furthering LegalCircle’s business interests in U.S market which has huge potential for the legal industry.
In Legal Circle, Kenneth will be responsible for management and quality control of Document Review Services of the company for its clients while Edward in his role will leverage his extensive experience and focus on consolidating and growing the company’s outsourcing client-base. He will bring to the company vast experience as a consultative business development executive with strong relationships at major corporations and law firms.
With their combined wealth of experience, both Kenneth and Edward will be instrumental in strengthening the company’s leadership across globe.
This strategic appointments are part of company’s strategy in expanding its operations in the US market as well as bringing the quality excellence in Document review services.
Elaborating on the strategic announcement, FM Legal Circle Services CEO, Mr Soumitro Chatterjee, said: ‘‘The Appointment of Kenneth & Edward comes well in time & marks a significant step for Legal Circle, as the company expands its presence & reinforces its commitment to provide the clients with best-in-class legal outsource processing solutions. I’m looking forward to work with them to ensure that Legal Circle maximizes its potential to deliver exceptional value to its global client base’’
LegalCircle is promoted by India’s most respected and largest law firm, FoxMandal Little, and has huge expansion plans in 2009.and is well committed to offer best of services to the clients. who wishes to shift their business focus from onshore to offshore legal outsourcing.
Kenneth spent the last three years performing and supervising document reviews with the nations leading law firms, including: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom ,Kirkland & Ellis; Shearman & Sterling; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Latham & Watkins; Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson; and Boies, Schiller & Flexner while Mr. Turner has recently been ranked as a leading lawyer in HongKong – AsiaLaw 2005-06 as well as a leading individual in International’s Who’sWho of Business Lawyers – 2006 apart from many other professional recognitions and awards.
About Legal Circle
Legal Circle is a subsidiary firm of Fox Mandal which has been extensively doing the Legal Process Outsourcing work for the major global and Indian clients.
Legal circle offers its clients; end to end legal services like Legal research, Legal Drafting, Patent Services, Litigation Support, Document review etc. It possesses highly skilled team of Indian,US attorneys and engineers, who are providing “end to end” solutions with their expertise, across a large spectrum of intellectual property support services for multinational corporates, law departments and international law firms. Legal Circle also specialized in 'Client Management System' (CMS) which constantly helps to monitor the daily progress of each projects undertaken and meet strict target deadlines. For further information visit: www.legalcircle.com
This is a part of well thought out expansion plans in its operations while announcing the strategic appointments of industry veterans to provide further impetus to its growth plans.
Kenneth is a US attorney and a pioneer in the litigation support industry, brings with him extensive experience in all aspects of the litigation vertical including electronic discovery, document review and information management. While Edward, a retired Senior Partner with Shearman and Sterling’s Asian practice, has a wealth of experience in the field of mergers and acquisitions, private equity, project development and project finance in Asian markets. He would be combining his previous experiences in the industry at various top positions for furthering LegalCircle’s business interests in U.S market which has huge potential for the legal industry.
In Legal Circle, Kenneth will be responsible for management and quality control of Document Review Services of the company for its clients while Edward in his role will leverage his extensive experience and focus on consolidating and growing the company’s outsourcing client-base. He will bring to the company vast experience as a consultative business development executive with strong relationships at major corporations and law firms.
With their combined wealth of experience, both Kenneth and Edward will be instrumental in strengthening the company’s leadership across globe.
This strategic appointments are part of company’s strategy in expanding its operations in the US market as well as bringing the quality excellence in Document review services.
Elaborating on the strategic announcement, FM Legal Circle Services CEO, Mr Soumitro Chatterjee, said: ‘‘The Appointment of Kenneth & Edward comes well in time & marks a significant step for Legal Circle, as the company expands its presence & reinforces its commitment to provide the clients with best-in-class legal outsource processing solutions. I’m looking forward to work with them to ensure that Legal Circle maximizes its potential to deliver exceptional value to its global client base’’
LegalCircle is promoted by India’s most respected and largest law firm, FoxMandal Little, and has huge expansion plans in 2009.and is well committed to offer best of services to the clients. who wishes to shift their business focus from onshore to offshore legal outsourcing.
Kenneth spent the last three years performing and supervising document reviews with the nations leading law firms, including: Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom ,Kirkland & Ellis; Shearman & Sterling; Weil, Gotshal & Manges; Latham & Watkins; Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson; and Boies, Schiller & Flexner while Mr. Turner has recently been ranked as a leading lawyer in HongKong – AsiaLaw 2005-06 as well as a leading individual in International’s Who’sWho of Business Lawyers – 2006 apart from many other professional recognitions and awards.
About Legal Circle
Legal Circle is a subsidiary firm of Fox Mandal which has been extensively doing the Legal Process Outsourcing work for the major global and Indian clients.
Legal circle offers its clients; end to end legal services like Legal research, Legal Drafting, Patent Services, Litigation Support, Document review etc. It possesses highly skilled team of Indian,US attorneys and engineers, who are providing “end to end” solutions with their expertise, across a large spectrum of intellectual property support services for multinational corporates, law departments and international law firms. Legal Circle also specialized in 'Client Management System' (CMS) which constantly helps to monitor the daily progress of each projects undertaken and meet strict target deadlines. For further information visit: www.legalcircle.com
Personnel News: Bruce Campbell Joins SDD Global
Bruce Campbell, Executive Director at SDD Global, is a specialist in corporate finance and intellectual property transactions. Bruce started his practice as an attorney at Hogan & Hartson, one of the world’s largest international law firms, where he worked for six years. Inspired by his entrepreneurial clients, Bruce opened his own firm in February 2003. After experiencing the work of SDD Global first hand as a client, and after spending time with us at our headquarters in Mysore, India, Bruce decided to join our company and further develop its capabilities. In his ten years of legal practice, Bruce has helped to form and finance numerous companies. He has guided many early stage companies through mergers, acquisitions and initial public offerings. His intellectual property experience includes representing clients in transactions with some of the most well known names in technology. He has provided advice on intellectual property transactions with companies located in Asia and Europe. He graduated with honors from the George Washington University Law School and summa cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh. He was a member of the George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics. While pursuing his undergraduate degree, Bruce studied at the University of Paris, La Sorbonne and the Institute for European and Asian studies in Paris, France.
Monday, February 09, 2009
LPO means business and opportunity
LPO industry comes across as a silver lining amidst economic slowdown and companies going out of business. With U.S. and European companies busy devising effective cost cutting measures without compromising the quality, Indian legal outsourcing industry stands to reap many benefits. A large pool of quality lawyers and engineers; the Indian legal system, which is common with that of U.S. and U.K.; exhaustive academic infrastructure; ability of some established LPO companies to scale-up operations in cost-effective manner; and certifications such as ISO 9001 (Quality Management System) and ISO 27001 (Information Security) attained by some of the Indian LPOs are some of the factors that add to their attractiveness for the U.S. and European markets. Forrester research projected that legal outsourcing to India will reach $4bn by 2015. This increase in legal outsourcing business has translated into two major challenges for the LPO industry. First, identifying what is being called the ‘employable’ talent among the tens of thousands of lawyers graduating every year and the second is retention of the best and the brightest – the ‘human capital.’
The work done in LPOs ranges from relatively simple legal tasks, such as document or contract review, to the more strategic and complex work such as patent intelligence and monetization, contract drafting etc. Therefore, there are different requirements of skill and expertise for the different activities that fall under the purview of LPO, as it stands now. From paralegals to lawyers to engineers and now even doctors and bio-chemists are hired by these firms to fulfill job requirements. Companies are using different techniques to get the best talent and be the first ones to grab the opportunity to utilize this talent for business success. Some of them are going directly to the campuses while others are using internal referral programs for recruitment. For example, CPA Global by its internal job posting program (IJP) offers opportunities to employees for lateral & vertical career advancement and development & learning through a transparent process of internal job posting & selection that would ensure fair and healthy competition. Once the step of recruitment of an individual is completed, an employee friendly company, and LPO companies are no different, needs to chalk out a plan for retention of this ‘human capital’ so acquired.
It is not uncommon to notice stories in the media about attractive careers offered by the LPO industry to engineers and lawyers in India. These careers because of aspects like dynamic environment, lively culture, career growth and opportunities, continuous learning and challenges excite young graduates (or post graduates and even doctorates) who want to achieve their dream job. One thing that needs to be focused on is the fact that the industry is in its growing stage. In other words, it is neither too young to have doubts about its future nor too old to worry about sustained growth. The growth from nadir to zenith is happening at a phenomenal pace. This has resulted in an environment where talent, out-of-the-box thinking and zeal to make a difference have become the most valued attributes. Bhaskar Bagchi, Country head of CPA Global – an LPO Company, in one of his interviews used the phrase “culture of empowerment”. The term captures the essence of companies who know that the present generation cannot be bounded by the chains of a bureaucratic system. In any given setup, challenges require courage and creativity. The present generation thrives on both of these attributes in a job. And, with the LPO industry surging ahead to expand across global jurisdictions, the need for these qualities cannot be direr as it is in the present situation. What they both should understand that only a symbiotic relationship can bring the growth of an individual as well as the company as a whole. It means that “Employee” and the “Company” stand on the same platform. Legal service providers do acknowledge this philosophy. CPA Global in India in keeping up with the demand of the time and creating a relation of equals, between the management and the employee, involved every single person in the making of its vision statement. Phenomenal isn’t it! Thus, every employee becomes a part of the decision-making process and responsible for the same. In this egalitarian setup, every person feels free to think about his/her career graph and opportunities for moving ahead within the company.
Career mobility in the LPO sector is rapid due to a galore of opportunities available to employees to prove their mettle in their respective fields. Separate departments have been created in HR section of the company that takes care of employee growth within an organization. Many law graduates have within few years become AVPs of their respective business verticals. This has been the case with engineers as well. What makes it possible? The reason behind it is that more than 80% of the workforce is constituted by people falling under the age group of 25–35 years. This young and dynamic junta makes the think tank of the company. With their entrepreneurial spirit at the right place and global market opening up, they are exposed to many challenges as well as devise mind boggling ways to deal with them. Every challenge thus becomes an opportunity to define one’s own career graph and give it the desired shape. This kind of a prospect is missing in other industries and careers. For example, in a corporate legal department any new entry takes at least 3–5 years just to get into the groove of operations. Less gestation period coupled with continuous learning opportunities makes a career in an LPO an appealing option.
Learning and development is one of the very crucial aspects of this industry. Candidates after they join the company are made to undergo rigorous training that spans from concepts such as punctuality and time management to intricacies about patent laws, legal research, contract drafting and other key areas. UnitedLex has its lawyers evaluated regularly. CPA Global in India has a separate department for learning and development. It makes the training contract for each employee according to which in a financial year 4.5 man days are completely devoted to honing up their skills or guiding them. U.S. patent attorneys are flown to India to train the lawyers and review their work. Such endeavors not only prove beneficial for the employee but also increase productivity and quality of the deliverables by the team. Interest in the well being of the employee is alone not the concern of the company but also of the client who is outsourcing his/her work. Microsoft, client of CPA Global, flies small groups of CPA Global employees to Redmond in order to know more about the people who work with them.
In all, alluring opportunities, equipping the employees with right set of skills and facing the challenges is what the LPO work profile has to offer in the long run.
The work done in LPOs ranges from relatively simple legal tasks, such as document or contract review, to the more strategic and complex work such as patent intelligence and monetization, contract drafting etc. Therefore, there are different requirements of skill and expertise for the different activities that fall under the purview of LPO, as it stands now. From paralegals to lawyers to engineers and now even doctors and bio-chemists are hired by these firms to fulfill job requirements. Companies are using different techniques to get the best talent and be the first ones to grab the opportunity to utilize this talent for business success. Some of them are going directly to the campuses while others are using internal referral programs for recruitment. For example, CPA Global by its internal job posting program (IJP) offers opportunities to employees for lateral & vertical career advancement and development & learning through a transparent process of internal job posting & selection that would ensure fair and healthy competition. Once the step of recruitment of an individual is completed, an employee friendly company, and LPO companies are no different, needs to chalk out a plan for retention of this ‘human capital’ so acquired.
It is not uncommon to notice stories in the media about attractive careers offered by the LPO industry to engineers and lawyers in India. These careers because of aspects like dynamic environment, lively culture, career growth and opportunities, continuous learning and challenges excite young graduates (or post graduates and even doctorates) who want to achieve their dream job. One thing that needs to be focused on is the fact that the industry is in its growing stage. In other words, it is neither too young to have doubts about its future nor too old to worry about sustained growth. The growth from nadir to zenith is happening at a phenomenal pace. This has resulted in an environment where talent, out-of-the-box thinking and zeal to make a difference have become the most valued attributes. Bhaskar Bagchi, Country head of CPA Global – an LPO Company, in one of his interviews used the phrase “culture of empowerment”. The term captures the essence of companies who know that the present generation cannot be bounded by the chains of a bureaucratic system. In any given setup, challenges require courage and creativity. The present generation thrives on both of these attributes in a job. And, with the LPO industry surging ahead to expand across global jurisdictions, the need for these qualities cannot be direr as it is in the present situation. What they both should understand that only a symbiotic relationship can bring the growth of an individual as well as the company as a whole. It means that “Employee” and the “Company” stand on the same platform. Legal service providers do acknowledge this philosophy. CPA Global in India in keeping up with the demand of the time and creating a relation of equals, between the management and the employee, involved every single person in the making of its vision statement. Phenomenal isn’t it! Thus, every employee becomes a part of the decision-making process and responsible for the same. In this egalitarian setup, every person feels free to think about his/her career graph and opportunities for moving ahead within the company.
Career mobility in the LPO sector is rapid due to a galore of opportunities available to employees to prove their mettle in their respective fields. Separate departments have been created in HR section of the company that takes care of employee growth within an organization. Many law graduates have within few years become AVPs of their respective business verticals. This has been the case with engineers as well. What makes it possible? The reason behind it is that more than 80% of the workforce is constituted by people falling under the age group of 25–35 years. This young and dynamic junta makes the think tank of the company. With their entrepreneurial spirit at the right place and global market opening up, they are exposed to many challenges as well as devise mind boggling ways to deal with them. Every challenge thus becomes an opportunity to define one’s own career graph and give it the desired shape. This kind of a prospect is missing in other industries and careers. For example, in a corporate legal department any new entry takes at least 3–5 years just to get into the groove of operations. Less gestation period coupled with continuous learning opportunities makes a career in an LPO an appealing option.
Learning and development is one of the very crucial aspects of this industry. Candidates after they join the company are made to undergo rigorous training that spans from concepts such as punctuality and time management to intricacies about patent laws, legal research, contract drafting and other key areas. UnitedLex has its lawyers evaluated regularly. CPA Global in India has a separate department for learning and development. It makes the training contract for each employee according to which in a financial year 4.5 man days are completely devoted to honing up their skills or guiding them. U.S. patent attorneys are flown to India to train the lawyers and review their work. Such endeavors not only prove beneficial for the employee but also increase productivity and quality of the deliverables by the team. Interest in the well being of the employee is alone not the concern of the company but also of the client who is outsourcing his/her work. Microsoft, client of CPA Global, flies small groups of CPA Global employees to Redmond in order to know more about the people who work with them.
In all, alluring opportunities, equipping the employees with right set of skills and facing the challenges is what the LPO work profile has to offer in the long run.
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