Outsourcing

Malpractice Suit Targets Quality of BigLaw’s Temporary Lawyers

A legal malpractice suit filed against McDermott Will & Emery raises questions about outside lawyers hired to help screen documents for clients. An amended malpractice suit filed last week by J-M Manufacturing, also known as JM Eagle, claims McDermott’s outside contract lawyers “negligently performed their duties” while screening documents, the…

Aug 3, 2011 11:59 AM CDT

Freelance Law: Lawyers’ Network Helps These Women Keep a Hand in the Workforce

Photo of Laurie Rowen and Erin Giglia by Jonah Light Laurie Rowen and Erin Giglia would like to add a new work status to the law dictionary: freelance. The 2009 founders of the 24-lawyer Montage Legal Group in Irvine, Calif., which bills itself as a network of freelance attorneys, would…

Aug 1, 2011 6:40 AM CDT

Hired Gun: Making Full-Time Work Out of Bits and Pieces

Eve Newman has figured out how to make a lucrative practice out of overflow work from other firms. For more than a decade, the New York City solo has exclusively handled excess work for other lawyers. Focusing on personal injury matters, she has developed a reputation as the go-to source…

Aug 1, 2011 6:30 AM CDT

Law Job Stagnation May Have Started Before the Recession—And It May Be a Sign of Lasting Change

The legal profession is undergoing a massive structural shift—one that will leave it dramatically transformed in the coming years.

Jul 1, 2011 9:40 AM CDT

A Professional Renewal: Why Great Lawyers of the New Age May Be ‘System Designers’

Can we preserve the best values of the legal profession in the face of the commercial and technological change that constitutes the “New Normal”? As our world grows more interconnected and complex, and as law grows more pervasive, law is evolving from an activity that is an occasional part of…

Jun 8, 2011 7:43 PM CDT

A Big Play for BigLaw: Ethics 20/20 Considers Separate Conduct Rules for Large Firms

Photo of London’s Financial District by AP Photo/Leftris Pitarakis When the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 gathered in Washington, D.C., for its most recent meeting, it was already looking at a full menu of challenging issues relating to the impact of technology and globalization on professional conduct rules for lawyers.…

Jun 1, 2011 5:50 AM CDT

LPO Use Gains Traction at UK Firms, Survey Says

Primarily driven by cost-saving needs, nearly 15 percent of U.K. law firms are outsourcing work—a significant boost from prior survey reports of only 5 percent in 2009. While 6 percent of in-house legal teams employ legal process outsourcing providers, both groups expect the use of LPO services to grow over…

May 6, 2011 11:07 PM CDT

Commission Seeks Input on Issues Related to Technology, Globalization

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 will probably receive some very interesting mail over the next several weeks. The commission is seeking input by June 1 on two key issues—alternative business structures and cross-border practice—as it looks at how lawyer ethics and regulation are being affected by technology and globalization.…

May 1, 2011 8:10 AM CDT

Ethics 20/20 Commission Settles on Recommendations on Outsourcing, Confidentiality, Foreign Lawyers

The ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 today reached consensus on the first pieces of the package of recommendations it will submit next year to the association’s policy-making House of Delegates. The nature of the recommendations might come as some relief to members of the legal community who have been concerned…

Apr 16, 2011 12:59 AM CDT

Suit Accuses Dewey and Staffing Firm of Failing to Pay OT

A technology worker claims in a lawsuit that he has been working as much as 56 hours a week at Dewey & LeBoeuf since 2009 without receiving any overtime pay. The suit by Charlemagne Dumay names as defendants the staffing firm that employs him, Robert Half International, as well as…

Apr 6, 2011 1:00 PM CDT

Keeping Score: 6 Ways to Know if Change Is Really Happening

I attended an excellent meeting at Georgetown University Law Center last week, “Trends in the Delivery of Corporate Legal Services.” The theme was “is change really happening?” We can point to conflicting signs: Some firms are thriving, some are failing, many clients are touting “alternative” fee structures, others are hesitant…

Mar 21, 2011 1:53 PM CDT

What Does the Future of Law Hold? Three Predictions

I have learned so much from my friend, adviser and fellow New Normal blogger, Paul Lippe. Paul is as an astute observer of the legal profession as there is, something especially important to people who are trying to understand the changes occurring in the profession and reshape their practices, firms…

Mar 15, 2011 1:21 PM CDT

Top 10 Ways to Better Manage Legal Spending

As it becomes increasingly apparent that 2011 and beyond won’t bring a “return to normal” for annual double-digit growth in legal budgets, I thought it would be useful to recap the top ways I’ve found to better manage legal spending. None of these are new, but all are rooted in…

Feb 17, 2011 6:39 PM CST

Vendor or Competitor? Pangea3 Purchase Pleases Some, Worries Others

When Thomson Reuters, owner of the West legal publishing business, acquired Indian legal process outsourcing company Pangea3 in November, the move validated the significance of a fast-growing industry capable of providing automated legal services—without the presence of traditional law firms. The deal, valued between $35 million and $40 million, also…

Feb 1, 2011 7:50 AM CST

Thomson Reuters Hiring Attorneys for New LPO Outfits in Michigan, Texas

Updated: When we reported Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of Indian legal process outsourcing company Pangea3 in the February issue, the publishing giant hadn’t yet disclosed where it would build document review centers in the U.S., aimed to mirror those overseas. This week, however, we discovered a Thomson-Pangea3 post on job-search website…

Jan 27, 2011 7:53 PM CST