Legal Outsourcin Legal Outsourcing and the Market Realities Behind It BY CRISTIAN RARELLO MENDES mn the past decade, with the evolution of the free-market economy, cost-saving outsourcing and offshoring have been the strategies adopted by U.S. companies to keep competitive, With the development of Information Technology, advances in ‘Transportation/Logistics and a shortage of domestic skilled workers caused by, ‘mong other factors, the rising of the “dot com” business culture, an increasing amount of legal service nowadays is outsourced to legal professionals who may be located in the next state or elsewhere on the globe. But Wuart PrecisELy is Lecat Oursourcinc ano Wuat Are THE Marker REALITIES? {n short, outsourcing isa staffing tool whereby an organization contracts with any third party to provide services traditionally handled by internal staff, to reduce costs Outsourcing may be done domestically, or the work may he sent overseas, The term offshoring” is often used to refer to outsourcing to a non-domestic provider. Chief 18 Oct / Nov 2008 » National Paralegal Reporter among the specific easons for locating opera tions ouside a corporation's home county are Jower labor costs, more lenient environmental regulations, less-stringent labor regulations favorable tax conditions, and proximity to raw materials, Such market trends are now governing the US. legal industry, and a new approach on issues such as pluralism, lay, and, multicultur alism 1s being formed. In this scenario, the comparative law is an efficient tool to decide either compatibility of foreign legal concepts or the merits of foreign legal systems as well as provide an encyclopedia of foreign legal id Modern comparative legal methodology deals with “legal transplants” and reception of for eign law Have in mind that no domestic legal system may be considered as absolutely perfect or exportable as a whole, harmonization and con vergence become viable since the interaction of foreign l efully selected legal transplants, if they are compatible with the rest ofthe legal body in the recipient country is important to perceive that in this new commercial framework, international law and Countries’ sovereignty are the main instruments le solutions for any possible conflicts arising from incompatbilities between very diverse legal systems rooted in common law or positivism, Besides, using different cutting-edge tech. ideas may inspire functional to achieve equit nologies o guarantee security in the circulation of documents over the web, improving law libraries and online database access to foreign law, and investing in the quality of legal trans. lation are efficient measures that transnational service providers must take so as to assure thriving international harmonization through hard or soft lave Countries with EnGtisn- SPeakinc Workrorces Currently Brazil, Russia, India, and China lead the lst of countries that have learned this lesson well and offer educated, English-speak ing workforces, “The (so-called) BRICS are pre dicted to emerge as major world players hy 2050,” said Frank J, Casale, The Outsourcing Institute GEO, OLegal Out ourcing, ‘When searching for a suitable ofshore location, client organizations need to scrutinize & comprehensive set of indica tors, including labor costs and economic and social risks, among others, and then elect the destination presenting the best overall profile Since Brazil’ proximity to the U.S. makes it distinctly more accessible than ‘more distant Asian locations, it qualifies 4 “nearshore” location for the U.S. mar- ket, along with Canada and various Caribbean countries (makes me the teal wn American professional to complemen operation). Culturally, the typical creative, energetic and friendly nature of the Brazilian legal team makes us well-suited for time-con suming projects involving high demands for cooperation, Another point is that web conferences, conference calls, intranet and other communication tools can bring. all stalf members together, besides allowing daily collaboration an th owledgeable quality anser questions on routine basis Way Nort Be an OursourceD OR AN OFFSHORING PARALEGAL? In an increasingly sophisticated global marketplace, all sorts of non-domestic job experiences do aud value to your resume. A alobal point of view is a critical skill set that enhances creativity, diversity of think ing, and outstanding skllfulness for work- ing with a variety of individuals with di ferent backgrounds, interest, and capabil- ites. Concerning the Brazilian legal industry, due to the lack of an initiative focusing on the implementation of standards for the paraleyal profession, the offshoring per- spective exclusively touches lawyers. Individuals pursuing a career in law must dedicate five years of intensive study at a university to recese a Bachelor of Laws or LLB (as opposed to an American Juris Doctor of JD). Then, to enter the market place as an attomey at lav, a graduate must pass the Brazilian Bar exam and obey all provisions in both the Brazilian Bar Association Statute (Federal Law 8,906/94) and in the Brazilian Bar Association Code of Ethies and Discipline Also, Brazilian attorneys have t0 pay a yearly fee approximately the equivalent to US. $315, varying ftom state to state In this context of herculean efforts and high expenses, every year, about 120,000 Jaw graduates who do not pass. the Brazilian Bar Association exam (which begins to have its assessment criteria seri- ously questioned) are deprived of occupy ing attomey positions available in the Jocal labor market. And they keep trying to be admitted to the Brazilian Bar several s until they are finally well-trained in taking the exam, In this setting, wouldn't the current out- soureing trend be the perfect call for these ‘qualified legal professionals to get in the game? On the other hand, having in mind that Brazilian standards forthe legal workforce are already well ahove average, why don't you, American legal practitioners, go on a highly rewarding experiment in such a ‘wonderful and warm place like Brazil? Work experience abroad will boost your employability and enhance career prospects; so now Is the perfect time for you to start considering a fruitful move in your lives Cristiane Rasta Mendes was born in Rio 4 Janciro, Brail, and speaks Portuguese and English, besides knowing busie Spanish and Japanese, Cristiane has taken the Paralcgalism Diploma Coarse from Kaplan College, Florida, and atends the se ond year of law school at Candide Mendes, a leading Brazilian law sehool. Being an afl ate member of NFPA since 2001 ‘over nine yeas experience with major Intellectual Property firms, Cristiane is now an independeat paralegal and builds her own sient portfolio, Actively involved with nd having research projects om the influence of interna tional legislations on the Brazilian legal sys tem, Cristiane has made several friends wound the work, and her next targeted source of information is Athens, Greece National Paralegal Reporter ParalegalJobs.com| The Center for Paralegal Jobs Thotsanuds of pages suite uly eil Join our WEEKY email sent to 10/000+ subscribers eleilyc ous gui) ebite Gleeeiiyidtess for Paralegal Jobs Post Jobs. Receive Resumes. Oct | Now 2008 19 a