legal research outsourcing: our means and your ends

Legal Research Outsourcing: Our Means and Your Ends

Draft and Craft Law Firm Pvt. Ltd.www.draftncraft.com

Organizer: Rajni Minhas – Assistant Legal Head, Draft n [email protected]

Panelist : Jagriti Mishra – Head, Business Development, Draft n [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

At a glance….

• Outsourcing in the Era of Globalization.• Litigation Support Services & Outsourcing.• Legal Research & Outsourcing.• Draft n Craft- Company Overview.• Legal Research as a service.• Importance of Legal Research.• Legal Research Outsourcing Needs.• Legal Research Outsourcing Solutions.• Legal Research: Process Flow.• Training and Assurance of Quality.• Ethical and Confidentiality Concerns.• Risks and Impediments.• Confidentiality of Data.• Obligations of the Data Importer.• Compliance with the directive and the DPA.• Contract Excellence.• Core Drivers.

The lawyers count on us…….©Copyright 2009 All rights reserved Draft n Craft

Outsourcing in the Era of Globalization

The Legal Process Outsourcing industry has

emerged as a key factor in the growth of globalization catching the curiosity and attention of people all over the world.

Law firms are globalizing their practice by merging across borders to cater to international companies and to be ready for the new era of legal internationalization.


Litigation Support Services & Outsourcing


Most Outsourced Services in 2008

24%

21%17%

20%

6%7% 5%

Legal Research Contract Review/Drafting IPR

Document Review Immigration Services Secretarial Services

Other Services

Legal Research & Outsourcing

• Delegation• Outsourcing• Offshore outsourcing

Time, money and workflow management.


Draft n Craft – An Overview

• “Draft n Craft” is a legal process outsourcing service provider having its registered office in Connaught Place, New Delhi and outsourcing centre as well in Delhi, India.

• The company is headed by our CEO/MD Rakesh K Sharma who has been a practicing lawyer for more than 20 years in the High Court of Delhi and the Supreme Court of India.

• We are a team of 32 attorneys and 18 paralegals.

• We are an ISO 9001:2008 certified company.

• We are a pioneer in providing the legal and paralegal services.


Legal Research - A Service

Legal Research is used in the legal profession to describe the process of using a researcher to discover the history of a case, history of a statute, or clients position for any issue.

The end result is to determine whether a case or statute is a good law and where does the client stand in the prevalent law of the land .


Importance of Legal Research

One of the most important aspect of legal decision – making is the process of identifying and retrieving the right information, starting from the analysis of facts of the problem and ending with its application and communication and that is carrying out a Legal Research.


Legal Research Outsourcing Needs

• To carry out expert, accurate and comprehensive legal research on any legal issue in any jurisdiction.

• Comprehensive surveys of laws, rules and regulations in various foreign jurisdictions.

• Demand of quick turnaround times.

• Gain a more extensive research at a fixed cost. The lawyers count on us…….

©Copyright 2009 All rights reserved Draft n Craft

Legal Research Outsourcing Solutions

• Common Law Advantage.

• We do legal research for multi jurisdiction.

• IRAC Memo with legal analysis of issues presented by the clients’ set of facts.

• Annotated summary of shepardized cases relevant to the client’s issue(s).

• Conclusion advocating the clients’ legal position.

• Access to legal databases.

• Available instantly on demand, predictable and fully scalable. The lawyers count on us…….

©Copyright 2009 All rights reserved Draft n Craft

Legal Research: Process Flow


Project Manager

(Ascertainment of scope and TAT)

Internal Quality Check

(100%)

Supervision

by US/ UK Attorney

Initial review/ analysis of appropriate law

Various resources to be looked at in order to get result

Formulation in the format

requested by client

CLIENT

Deliverables sent by Draft n Craft through FTP

Training and Assurance of Quality

• Our attorneys are trained conducting complex legal research assignments.

• Legal Research, Memo based on IRAC and general lexis training.

• Training on conducting a general search and Boolean search by using terms connectors.

• Training on shepardizing of cases with emphasis on case treatment and direct history.

• Training on Blue Book and California Style Manual.


Outsourcing of Legal Research as a Service: Ethical and confidentiality

concerns.


Ethical and Regulatory aspects of Outsourcing

Ethics and Confidentiality

Till date the following Bar Opinions have dealt with outsourcing:

• ABA Ethics Opinion 08-451, Lawyer’s Obligations When Outsourcing Legal and Nonlegal Support Services (2008).

• Florida State Bar Association Opinion 07-2 (2008).• North Carolina State Bar 2007 Formal Ethics Opinion 12 (2008).• San Diego County Bar Association Ethics Opinion 2007-1. (2007)• Association of the Bar of the City of New York Committee on Professional and Judicial

Ethics Formal Opinion 2006-3 (2006).• Los Angeles County Bar Association Professional Responsibility and Ethics Committee

Opinion 518 (2006).

Although all of them justify Outsourcing yet the San Diego opinion is the most elaborate document holding that work done by Indian attorneys’ under supervision of US attorney is not “unauthorized practice of law”.

The précis of all the opinions is that a lawyer may outsource legal or non-legal support services provided the lawyer supervises and remains ultimately responsible for rendering competent legal services to the client reference to Model Rule 1.1, 1.5, 1.6, 5.1, 5.3 and 5.5.1 ABA. Hence it is not unethical to outsource.


Risks and Impediments

• Unauthorized practice of law and attorney supervision :Model Rule 5.3

• Conflict of interest :Model Rule 1.7


Confidentiality of Data

• UK Data Protection Act 1998 (DPA).

• European Directive No. 95/46/EC dated 24 October 1995.

• Different standards for EEA (European Economic Area) and Non-EEA countries.

• Export of data to India covered under Article 25 of the Data Protection Directive and DPA.


Obligations of the Data Importer

DPA Requirements Our CommitmentsTo process the personal data only on behalf of the data exporter and in compliance with his instructions and clauses.

We ensure to process data only on behalf of the data exporter (client).

No reason for data importer to believe that the legislation applicable to him prevents him from fulfilling data exporter’s guidelines.

India does not have a legislation (specifically covering data protection) that prohibits to follow data exporters’ guidelines.

Implementation of technical and organizational security measures before processing the personal data.

Discussed in details in the next slide. Disclosure in case of request from law enforcement agency.

The Indian Govt. has the right to demand access to data only in case of threat to National Security.

To deal promptly and properly with data and to submit the data processing facilities for audit at the request of the data exporter.

Keeping in mind the strict TAT we deal with personal data promptly. we encourage client’s visit on our premises.


Other safeguards adopted to ensurecompliance with the directive and the DPA

• Electronic Access Control at our work centre.• Software and Hardware security.• Limited/no internet access to avoid inadvertent.• disclosure of documents.• Prevention of data pilferage.• Data locking in server.• High end confidentiality arrangements like VPN.• Working on Client Server.• Camera and Security guards available 24x7.• Secured employee passwords.• Non-Disclosure Agreements with employees.• Client password facility to access their work progress.• Preservation of attorney-client privilege. • Dedicated client infrastructure arrangements


Contract ExcellenceKey points to consider:

• Pricing mechanisms.– As Needed Basis– Hourly rate– Project basis

• Volume-based adjustment provisions.

• Exit strategies including severity clauses, data destruction etc.

• Liability Caps.

• Contract review and change control provisions (Successor and Assigns Clause).

• Service levels - to identify whether all contracted service levels are needed and whether the levels set can be adjusted down in return for a price reduction while still securing performance at an appropriate level.

• Management reporting - to identify if the weight of management information can be reduced to focus on the data actually required for management purposes in return for a price reduction.

Flexibility and balance are key characteristics that promote the chances of an outsourcing agreement lasting the course.


Core Drivers

• Get cost, resource and speed benefit.• The labor arbitrage contributes to savings• Consolidation and standardization of processes unlocks tremendous opportunities• Scalability• “Non-price levers” also contribute towards your cost advantages based on

– repeatable and compliant processes and metrics that reflect performance across the entire process.

– Adherence to compliance guidelines– effective demand management and – rationalization of specifications across the organization

• We have governance structures in place that effectively mitigate your any possible dissatisfaction. • Audit of the deliverables to check for non-conformities.• Additionally, through real time remote monitoring you can keep tab on the metrics and ensure quick

intervention when issues are escalated.• ISO 9001:2008 Quality Control standards.• Services Available 24 x 7 x 365.• Paying “by the drink basis” results in savings in the form of both lower unit rates for similar volumes

of service and substantial discounts for the purchase of even higher volumes of the service.• No burden of fixed charges as otherwise required for executing the Legal Research.• No issues of non compliance with any of the Ethics and Standards.• The perfection in crafting excellence through the outsourcing contract creates the opportunity for the

clients to “game the system” in a global transaction.• Errors and Omission insurance by the LPO caters to the much feared risk in the minds of the clients.


Q&A Session


“Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.”


THANK YOU


CONTACT DETAILS

Rajni MinhasAssistant Legal Head

[email protected]

Draft and Craft Law Firm P. Ltd.F-26/1 Shanker Market,

Connaught Place New Delhi, India

Tel: +91 11 2341 4576Fax: +91 11 2341 4044


legal research outsourcing: our means and your ends

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