Lawyers being outsourced

[Hannah Bell]

by Jim Hightower

Maybe you're one of the thousands of young lawyers in America working in some low-skill, part-time job because law firms have cut so many of the starting positions you were educated to take. If so, I have good news: Jobs for young lawyers are now mushrooming in companies that provide legal services to U.S. corporations.

Unfortunately, you'll have to move to India to get one. And the pay will be — how shall I put this? — "disappointing."

Lawyering has become the latest category of good jobs disappearing from our Land of the Free, as corporate chieftains continue to offshore the American workplace. The average student loan debt for a recent law school graduate is upward of $100,000, and now law school grads are finding that jobs are scarce — especially since Wall Street banks, insurance corporations, mining giants and others are shipping more and more of their law business to Pangea3, CPA Global, UnitedLex and other rapidly expanding legal outsourcing outfits in India.

In the past five years, the number of these upstart firms has more than tripled, with each one offering from a few dozen to hundreds of young Indian law-school graduates. These eager legal beagles are hunkered down in corporate cubicles, ready to write contracts, review legal documents and — increasingly — to handle the more sophisticated chores of case management and regulatory filings that corporations have been entrusting to more experienced American lawyers.

http://www.factoryrat.com/factoryrat/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=13016

[notesdev]

1. What goes around, comes around

I feel an odd satisfaction in this after watching lawyers do a slash-and-burn through the IT industry in order to make money off of fraudulent labor visas.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU

Note how they state without shame that their purpose is to make sure that no American gets hired.

[Skittles]

2. if they're as skillful as the IT folk

I'll pay what it takes for onshore counsel

[blondeatlast]

3. It has caused some unauthorized practice of law issues.

And did I mention that it is vile?

(I work in the legal field--or at least, I'm trying to!)

[Kringle]

4. is there a downside to this? ..........nt

[KamaAina]

5. Hmmm... maybe people not trained in U.S. law handling U.S. cases?

:shrug: