As the legal outsourcing industry matures, the practical, ethical and regulatory implications of legal outsourcing are also growing. To address these concerns, a number of U.S. courts, organizations and bar associations have published ethical opinions, statements, court rulings, position statements and policies . Below is a road map to navigating the diverse and growing body of LPO ethical policies.
As various ethical bodies review the ethical implications of legal outsourcing and gain input from practicing attorneys, LPO vendors, experts and the larger legal community, these ethical policies will continue to expand and evolve.
American Bar Association
The most widely referenced legal outsourcing ethics opinion to date is Formal Opinion 08-451, Lawyer’s Obligations When Outsourcing Legal and Nonlegal Support Services, issued by the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility on August 5, 2008. This opinion addresses the ethical obligations of lawyers in hiring legal professionals outside the firm to provide legal and non-legal support services.
State and Local Jurisdictions
A limited number of state and local bar ethical bodies, courts and other organizations have released opinions regarding the ethical and professional regulatory implications of legal process outsourcing. While these opinions are not binding, they offer guidance on a variety of issues relating to the ethics of legal process outsourcing
