PANGEA3 LLC

Pangea3 is a featured provider in a New York Times article about legal outsourcing which prominently quotes two of our own, Vice President of Litigation Services, Greg McPolin, and Associate Vice President of Litigation, Chris Wheeler. “Legal Outsourcing Pulls Western Talent to India,” is rosy about the future of legal outsourcing, Heather Timmons even quoting Harvard Law’s David Wilkins who says on LPO, “This is not a blip, this is a big historical movement.”

Two important aspects of the LPO industry are repeatedly highlighted in the article. The first: LPO is now a “…mainstream part of the global business of law.” Some of the largest, most well respected companies in the world outsource legal services, because it makes them better companies—more efficient and more cost effective. This is not about labor-arbitrage; it’s about transformation of the way legal services are delivered and consumed.

Secondly, rather than glossing over the thorny issue of “wait-aren’t-you-giving-India-the-work-of-hard-working-domestic-lawyers,” the article takes it head on—and finds that while there is no going back from LPO now that the service has been introduced, providers are also not poised to replace traditional law firms (nor are we interested in doing that). Timmons brings attention to the fact that, “Employees at legal outsourcing companies in India are not allowed by Indian law to give legal advice to clients in the West, no matter their qualifications.” Rather, LPO providers have created streamlined, client driven business models, and do not replace the specialized skills of senior lawyers. Again, it’s about change and transformation, not about cheaper lawyers.

The New York Times agrees that the business of law is changing, to the benefit of those who need to hire lawyers. To read the full article click here. Timmons’s point that many seasoned Western lawyers are jumping at the chance to go to India is further emphasized in The Wall Street Journal Law Blog.