The Hindu Business Line : Bid to tap cost-effective market — US law firms ship project work to India

INDIAN legal eagles are now in big demand in the US. Undeterred by the backlash over outsourcing, law firms from US are said to be exporting legal projects to India.

While experts seem to be unanimous in their view that the highly educated legal work force in India proves cost-effective for the American firms, they are quick to point out that this is like `doing business' which goes against the services that a practising professional lawyer can render.

A lawyer has to be in practice of law, they said.

Mr Lalit Bhasin, President, Society of Indian Law Firms (SILF), said: "We have also heard about this trend which is not right in letter or spirit of law. This is a back-door entry tactic by foreign firms to tap the Indian market."

Terming it as "surrogate" work by foreign firms, he said: "Since these firms cannot practice in India, they are using the Indian legal practice through this route. It is like a façade."

Other legal experts said that the validity of such activity can be questioned. The works being outsourced by the American firms are coding and organising of documents for major litigation cases, transcription, legal research and document management for trials.

"This trend started some 6-8 months back. Mostly it is work related to American laws," said Mr Pradip Khaitan, Partner, Khaitan and Co.

Agreeing that initially it is cost-effectiveness that is attracting the foreign firms, he said, "With time they would come to accept our brains as well. The Indian legal experts are quite capable of finding better ways of doing a job."

Currently, 5-6 Indian firms are doing business, he said.

Expressing reservations on the growth prospects for the professionals, Mr U.K. Chaudhary, a senior advocate, said that these would be "mere clerical" jobs. Besides, it requires specialists who are well-versed in American law.

"How many law firms in India are equipped with American laws can be questioned."

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