Outsourcing to India Draws Western Lawyers.. JUST SAY NO!
August 17, 2010I missed the original New York Times article, but did see a post at ‘The Paralegal’ which echoed many of my feelings on the subject. (“I’m going to take this one head-on“)
As a paralegal, now working virtually outside the big law model, I find the entire concept flawed and consider it a slap in the face to my profession.
The news that lawyers, or any American company, is willing to outsource to India sends shivers down my spine. It boggles the mind that, at a time when we are trying desperately to achieve economic recovery for our own country, that anyone would willingly outsource to another country.
Paralegals have the ability, experience, competence, compassion and availability in the US to perform the same jobs that these law firms are ready to send overseas.
Furthermore, paralegals are more accessible to the clients and bill at much lower rates. Do these firms actually think they will be saving money when their clients realize that they are being billed at attorney rates for simple status update calls that would normally have been handled by the paralegal?
What are your thoughts?
1 CommentParalegal Paradigm Shift – An Open Letter to Jones Day (and ‘big law’) re: Downsizing
August 17, 2010Now that the news has hit that Jones Day will be laying off staffers due to, as their spokesperson has said, “(The) universal adoption of smart phones, voice mail and email enables (and requires) lawyers to be more self-sufficient,” allow me to provide you with the opportunity to take that logic a step further – hire virtual paralegals to fill the gap.
Virtual paralegals saw this change coming several years ago. As a creditors’ rights specialist, I saw exactly what was about to happen to the economy, however, I did not anticipate the negative impact it would have on law firms. I took the leap and left the relatively safe haven of my law firm job and decided to go virtual.
Your spokesperson is absolutely correct, technology has made it possible for attorneys to be more self-sufficient. But face it, attorneys are still more efficient when supported by talented, credentialed, professional paralegals.
Well, here we are. Certified, bona-fide paralegals working from our homes and laptops and still producing exemplary work for a fraction of the cost of a full time staff member. Think about it … look us up.
If you want a top notch Creditors’ Rights / Commercial Transactions paralegal, contact me, Pamela Starr of StarrParalegals, LLC (http://www.starrparalegals.com/). If you need an expert in another area of law, let me know … I have connections.
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