The primary organizations exploring and addressing ethical issues surrounding legal outsourcing are the American Bar Association and state and local bar organizations.
The American Bar Association
The American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility issued Formal Opinion 08-451, Lawyer’s Obligations When Outsourcing Legal and Nonlegal Support Services, on August 5, 2008. It is the ABA’s first Formal Opinion, and only so far, on the issue of legal outsourcing.
Henceforth, the ABA has commissioned various sections to further examine the practical, ethical, and regulatory implications of legal outsourcing in order to propose policy recommendations that will allow lawyers to better serve their clients. The most prominent are the ABA Commission on Ethics 20/20 and the ABA Section of International Law: Outsourcing Taskforce.
State and Local Bar Organizations
A number of state and local bar organizations have published ethical issuances relating to legal outsourcing. In addition, other state and local bar organizations are currently examining ethical issues relating to legal outsourcing, but have yet to make these initiatives public.
