The National Law Journal
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday expanded the reach of the Second Amendment to the states, opening the door to challenges of local handgun laws across the country.
In McDonald v. Chicago, a 5-4 majority said that a handgun ban in Chicago may have violated Second Amendment rights established in the Court's landmark 2008 decision in District of Columbia v. Heller. Justice Samuel Alito Jr., who delivered the majority opinion for the Court in McDonald v. Chicago, wrote that the right to keep and bear arms is "among those fundamental rights necessary to our system of liberty." Alito's 45-page opinion said the right is fully binding on the states -- a move limiting, but not eliminating, local and state efforts to craft measures to combat social problems.
"Self-defense is a basic right, recognized by many legal systems from ancient times to the present day, and in Heller, we held that individual self-defense is 'the central component' of the Second Amendment right," Alito wrote. Joining Alito were Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Antonin Scalia, Anthony Kennedy and Clarence Thomas. The decision in Heller, which struck down a District of Columbia law that prohibited the possession of handguns in the home, did not universally mean a person can keep and carry any weapon in any manner. Alito adopted that language, providing some level of reassurance to anti-gun-violence advocates.
The Court's ruling in McDonald does not expressly void Chicago's handgun ban. Instead, the Court reversed and remanded for additional proceedings.
Lead plaintiff Otis McDonald, a community activist in Chicago, filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois following the Supreme Court's ruling in Heller. The suit sought a declaration that Chicago's handgun ban violates the Second and 14th amendments. In June 2009, the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed the dismissal of the suit.
Alan Gura, a lead attorney for the plaintiffs in the Heller and McDonald cases, predicted subsequent handgun challenges based on the Court's ruling Monday. "This is not going to be the end of gun laws, of course, as states and localities continue to regulate guns in the interest of public safety," said Gura of Alexandria, Va.'s Gura & Possessky, after Monday's ruling. "However, there are, unfortunately, laws that have no public benefit whatsoever and exist merely to harass and annoy gun owners to make gun ownership difficult, expensive and burdensome. Those laws are going to get struck down after today's ruling."
Gura declined to say whether -- and where -- he was planning to bring additional challenges.
Justice John Paul Stevens wrote a 57-page dissent in which he said the 14th Amendment's guarantee of "substantive due process" does not mean an individual has a right to keep a firearm for self-defense. "The costs of federal courts' imposing a uniform national standard may be especially high when the relevant regulatory interests vary significantly across localities, and when the ruling implicates the States' core police powers," Stevens wrote.
Justice Stephen Breyer's 31-page dissent was joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Sonia Sotomayor. "[T]here is no popular consensus that the private self-defense right described in Heller is fundamental," Breyer wrote. Public opinion, he said, is divided over the level of firearm regulation, which Breyer called "a hotly contested matter of political debate."
"The fact is that judges do not know the answers to the kinds of empirically based questions that will often determine the need for particular forms of gun regulation," Breyer wrote. "Nor do they have readily available ‘tools' for finding and evaluation the technical material submitted by others."
Breyer said there is no need to send judges off on what he called "mission-almost-impossible" when legislators are best suited for such a fact-intensive examination.
Nixon Peabody partner Charles Dyke in San Francisco, an attorney for the Chicago Board of Education, which participated as a friend-of-the court in support of upholding the handgun ban, told reporters he expects the "vast majority" of gun restrictions in the country will be "just as valid today as they were yesterday."
In an interview, Gura praised the lawyers for Chicago, whom he called "professional and easy to work with." He was drawing a sharp contrast to District of Columbia attorneys in the Heller case -- attorneys that Gura has accused of unnecessarily prolonging the litigation.
Gura remains in a fee dispute with the District of Columbia. Earlier this month, he filed an amended fee petition in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking more than $3.1 million. "Having vindicated the constitutional rights of the people of Chicago, the city of Chicago should be aware that the meter is on," Gura said.
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202463104231&Justices_Expand_Second_Amendment_Gun_Rights_to_States
Ankit Rawal
High Court All Over the Map in 'Bilski' -- By: Tony Mauro
In the end, Bilski may have been a bust.
After more than 60 briefs on both sides, oral arguments last November and an eight-month vigil for the ruling among patent lawyers, the decision in Bilski v. Kappos issued Monday may have done little to end the debate over what kinds of innovations are or are not eligible for patents.
The long-awaited decision was supposed to resolve the patent eligibility of business methods or processes that are not tied to a new machine or don't transform anything. But while rejecting one such patent, it did not rule out method patents in general, underlining that it "need not define further what constitutes a patentable process" beyond looking to guideposts provided by past U.S. Supreme Court decisions.
Justice Anthony Kennedy's majority decision agreed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit that the specific patent at issue -- a way of hedging against weather-related losses in the energy industry -- should not have been granted. All nine justices agreed that it was too abstract for patentability.
But for a smaller majority, Kennedy did not rule out all business methods patents and invited the Federal Circuit to keep trying to find a better test than the "machine or transformation" test, which he relegated to the status of a "clue" but not the only test.
Stevens' concurrence, one day before he retired from the high court, had the look of a writing that could have started out as a majority opinion but lost its fifth vote. Stevens, who was joined by justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Sonia Sotomayor, called the majority a "tepid disposition" of the case.
It was tepid enough, apparently, that even the lawyer for patent holders Bernard Bilski and Rand Warsaw did not concede defeat. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner partner J. Michael Jakes, who argued the case for the patent holders, said, "We are disappointed by today's decision because we believed the Bilski/Warsaw claims should be patentable under the broad language of the Patent Act." But Jakes said he would work with his clients to revive their patent claim to meet the new guidance provided by the Court.
"The Supreme Court's narrow decision today in Bilski v. Kappos means that the game of 'hot potato' being played between the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court will continue," said Dechert's Joshua Rawson.
"Business method patents are still alive and well -- or at least have survived this latest test," said Martin Raskin of Cozen O'Connor. "This decision is a win for financial institutions and software companies, but clearly not what companies like Google and Yahoo! would have liked."
"The long-anticipated Bilski opinion was released today with more of a thud than a splash," said Keith McWha of Day Pitney. "The Supreme Court left open the question of what would be needed for a business method to be considered patentable subject matter. Also left open are the questions of patentable subject matter for software patents and medical diagnostic methods."
"In the short run, there may be fewer claims for patent infringement," said Cynthia Kernick of Reed Smith. "At the end of the day, though, smart people will still figure out how to make money from the patent system and business methods no matter what the Supreme Court rules."
The case involved a patent application filed by Bilski and
Bilski and
The circuit ruling sent shock waves through the patent law world, with critics saying the decision would slow innovation in the areas of information technology and financial services, in which patents are sought -- and have been granted -- for new processes that are less tangible than a physical invention. Critics of the Federal Circuit decision warned in amicus curiae briefs that, if its test is upheld, thousands of existing, pending or future patents would be threatened.
During oral argument last November, most justices appeared deeply skeptical of the patent claim. But the long period between argument and decision -- it was the oldest pending case on the argument docket this term -- left lawyers wondering whether the Court was so divided that it would rule narrowly with numerous concurrences and dissents.
Real Estate Restructuring Work Proving a Boon to Firms by Robert Carr
Real estate restructuring work, a bandwagon that many firms jumped on in the past year, shows no signs of slowing. More than $1.4 trillion in commercial loans are coming to term in the next four years, according to the Congressional Oversight Panel studying financial reform, and will likely keep the distressed-property business booming.
That trend is paying off for many firms and their workout practice groups. Katharine Bachman, vice-chair of the real estate practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, says her group has seen a real spike in restructuring work. When the firm first organized its Distressed Real Estate Solutions Group at the end of 2008, only a small percentage of the real estate practice concentrated on loan collections and distressed asset investments.
"Today, approximately 30 percent of our real estate work is in the distressed arena. We project that this percentage will increase as investment markets loosen ... particularly given the fact that so much commercial real estate debt -- financed at higher valuations than the current market -- is coming due over the next few years," she says.
Last week Jenner & Block announced the formation of their Real Estate Finance Litigation and Workout Task Force, bringing together attorneys from the real estate, complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy, corporate and environmental practices. Don Resnick, chairman of the firm's real estate practice, says creating a cross-functional team made sense.
"We just kept running into each other working these cases. We realized that [various practice areas] needed our help, and we needed theirs, to tackle this feeding frenzy of work," Resnick says. "With this team we're also able to use our expertise from 1990 to train the younger attorneys, many of whom had no idea a property deal could go bad." Resnick is one of many leaders of real estate divisions who worked on distressed deals in the 1990-91 recession.
Many real estate attorneys say they saw the writing on the wall in 2008 as securitization and splitting up debt became popular in the past decade, and the risk implications of trying to deal with unraveling each piece was ignored. Rick Jones, co-chair of Dechert's finance and real estate group, says he likes to call it the "Glass Race Car" theory.
"A glass race car, you would imagine, can be created with multiple chemicals and layers into all one piece with intricate details and structure. It's great, until it hits the wall. Then it shatters in a thousand sharp pieces," he says.
The restructuring business for Dechert has also grown significantly, he says, both in representing lenders and borrowers. "I would say the workout business throughout the legal community is up several hundred percent," Jones says. "I think we'll see the volume of troubled loan restructures increase another 100 percent between now and 2011. It won't be until 2013, at least, that we see a market start to be free of dealing with restructures."
However, Jones says though there's a great deal of restructuring nuances to wade through, the number of cases is still much, much lower than was expected. "We all saw this movie in 1990. We all went from originating loans to working them out for a number of years, and this was the paradigm that we thought would be followed. It just didn't happen," Jones says.
In hindsight, he says the bid-ask spread, the difference between the asking price of a property and what someone would be willing to pay, just got too wide too fast. "Banks have been enabled by regulators not to mark assets to real trading values and sell them, and we're still seeing a reluctance from holders to engage in wholesale sales. It's just causing a drag on the credit markets for all deals," Jones says. He adds, "things are starting to pick up. We're cranking up lateral hiring for the first time in three years."
Brett Miller, a partner with Morrison & Foerster, says his firm's Distressed Real Estate group was formed about 18 months ago; and similar to other firms with these teams, the core group is about 30 attorneys. His practice group, led by Chair Mark Edelstein, has been involved in the Chapter 11 filing of Stations Casinos (representing bidder Boyd Gaming Group), as well as representing the largest creditor group in the General Growth Properties bankruptcy case, and the largest creditor in the Extended Stay Hotels bankruptcy case.
"Workouts are just a tremendous growth area, and it's going to continue. You're going to see a lot of case law being developed from these issues, such as the decisions in the General Growth case that showed bankruptcy can be filed for the greater good," Miller says.
Richard Fries, a partner who leads the commercial real estate and distressed loan restructuring team at Bingham McCutchen, says that a specialized distressed property practice at many firms is here to stay, in contrast to the end of the last down cycle, when restructuring work seemed to fade away as bigger deals came in.
"The work in our distressed real estate group has increased significantly since its inception a year and a half ago," Fries says. "Our volume has probably increased close to 50 percent. We expect that, subject to changes in the marketplace, we shall be involved in distressed real estate workouts for the next two to three years at a level greater than today. It is hard to fix a percentage, but a steady increase each year is likely."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202458980183&Real_Estate_Restructuring_Work_Proving_a_Boon_to_Firms
That trend is paying off for many firms and their workout practice groups. Katharine Bachman, vice-chair of the real estate practice group at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr, says her group has seen a real spike in restructuring work. When the firm first organized its Distressed Real Estate Solutions Group at the end of 2008, only a small percentage of the real estate practice concentrated on loan collections and distressed asset investments.
"Today, approximately 30 percent of our real estate work is in the distressed arena. We project that this percentage will increase as investment markets loosen ... particularly given the fact that so much commercial real estate debt -- financed at higher valuations than the current market -- is coming due over the next few years," she says.
Last week Jenner & Block announced the formation of their Real Estate Finance Litigation and Workout Task Force, bringing together attorneys from the real estate, complex commercial litigation, bankruptcy, corporate and environmental practices. Don Resnick, chairman of the firm's real estate practice, says creating a cross-functional team made sense.
"We just kept running into each other working these cases. We realized that [various practice areas] needed our help, and we needed theirs, to tackle this feeding frenzy of work," Resnick says. "With this team we're also able to use our expertise from 1990 to train the younger attorneys, many of whom had no idea a property deal could go bad." Resnick is one of many leaders of real estate divisions who worked on distressed deals in the 1990-91 recession.
Many real estate attorneys say they saw the writing on the wall in 2008 as securitization and splitting up debt became popular in the past decade, and the risk implications of trying to deal with unraveling each piece was ignored. Rick Jones, co-chair of Dechert's finance and real estate group, says he likes to call it the "Glass Race Car" theory.
"A glass race car, you would imagine, can be created with multiple chemicals and layers into all one piece with intricate details and structure. It's great, until it hits the wall. Then it shatters in a thousand sharp pieces," he says.
The restructuring business for Dechert has also grown significantly, he says, both in representing lenders and borrowers. "I would say the workout business throughout the legal community is up several hundred percent," Jones says. "I think we'll see the volume of troubled loan restructures increase another 100 percent between now and 2011. It won't be until 2013, at least, that we see a market start to be free of dealing with restructures."
However, Jones says though there's a great deal of restructuring nuances to wade through, the number of cases is still much, much lower than was expected. "We all saw this movie in 1990. We all went from originating loans to working them out for a number of years, and this was the paradigm that we thought would be followed. It just didn't happen," Jones says.
In hindsight, he says the bid-ask spread, the difference between the asking price of a property and what someone would be willing to pay, just got too wide too fast. "Banks have been enabled by regulators not to mark assets to real trading values and sell them, and we're still seeing a reluctance from holders to engage in wholesale sales. It's just causing a drag on the credit markets for all deals," Jones says. He adds, "things are starting to pick up. We're cranking up lateral hiring for the first time in three years."
Brett Miller, a partner with Morrison & Foerster, says his firm's Distressed Real Estate group was formed about 18 months ago; and similar to other firms with these teams, the core group is about 30 attorneys. His practice group, led by Chair Mark Edelstein, has been involved in the Chapter 11 filing of Stations Casinos (representing bidder Boyd Gaming Group), as well as representing the largest creditor group in the General Growth Properties bankruptcy case, and the largest creditor in the Extended Stay Hotels bankruptcy case.
"Workouts are just a tremendous growth area, and it's going to continue. You're going to see a lot of case law being developed from these issues, such as the decisions in the General Growth case that showed bankruptcy can be filed for the greater good," Miller says.
Richard Fries, a partner who leads the commercial real estate and distressed loan restructuring team at Bingham McCutchen, says that a specialized distressed property practice at many firms is here to stay, in contrast to the end of the last down cycle, when restructuring work seemed to fade away as bigger deals came in.
"The work in our distressed real estate group has increased significantly since its inception a year and a half ago," Fries says. "Our volume has probably increased close to 50 percent. We expect that, subject to changes in the marketplace, we shall be involved in distressed real estate workouts for the next two to three years at a level greater than today. It is hard to fix a percentage, but a steady increase each year is likely."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202458980183&Real_Estate_Restructuring_Work_Proving_a_Boon_to_Firms
FTC Postpones 'Red Flags' Identity Theft Rule by Jenna Greene
Under pressure from Congress, the Federal Trade Commission has agreed to postpone enforcement of its "Red Flags" rule that requires lawyers, doctors and other professionals to develop written identity theft prevention programs.
Both the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association have sued the agency, arguing that imposing the identity theft rule requirements on their members is arbitrary, capricious and has no legally supportable basis.
The rule was developed under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC and other agencies to develop regulations requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions" to address the risk of identity theft.
The FTC considers lawyers and other professionals to be creditors under the act, and required them to implement written identity theft prevention programs to detect the warning signs -- or "red flags" -- of identity theft in their day-to-day operations.
Last August, the ABA, represented pro bono by Proskauer Rose, filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the rule's application to lawyers.
In October, Judge Reggie Walton backed the ABA, saying the FTC had overreached and that applying the rule to lawyers was unreasonable.
The FTC in February said it would appeal the decision.
Last month, the American Medical Association sued the FTC in U.S. District Court, arguing the rule should not apply to physicians either. Sidley Austin's Frank Volpe is representing the AMA.
On Friday the FTC announced that "as the request of several members of Congress," it would delay enforcement of the rule until the end of the year.
"Congress needs to fix the unintended consequences of the legislation establishing the Red Flags Rule -- and to fix this problem quickly. We appreciate the efforts of Congressmen Barney Frank and John Adler for getting a clarifying measure passed in the House, and hope action in the Senate will be swift," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. "As an agency we're charged with enforcing the law, and endless extensions delay enforcement."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202458982652
Both the American Bar Association and the American Medical Association have sued the agency, arguing that imposing the identity theft rule requirements on their members is arbitrary, capricious and has no legally supportable basis.
The rule was developed under the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, in which Congress directed the FTC and other agencies to develop regulations requiring "creditors" and "financial institutions" to address the risk of identity theft.
The FTC considers lawyers and other professionals to be creditors under the act, and required them to implement written identity theft prevention programs to detect the warning signs -- or "red flags" -- of identity theft in their day-to-day operations.
Last August, the ABA, represented pro bono by Proskauer Rose, filed suit in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the rule's application to lawyers.
In October, Judge Reggie Walton backed the ABA, saying the FTC had overreached and that applying the rule to lawyers was unreasonable.
The FTC in February said it would appeal the decision.
Last month, the American Medical Association sued the FTC in U.S. District Court, arguing the rule should not apply to physicians either. Sidley Austin's Frank Volpe is representing the AMA.
On Friday the FTC announced that "as the request of several members of Congress," it would delay enforcement of the rule until the end of the year.
"Congress needs to fix the unintended consequences of the legislation establishing the Red Flags Rule -- and to fix this problem quickly. We appreciate the efforts of Congressmen Barney Frank and John Adler for getting a clarifying measure passed in the House, and hope action in the Senate will be swift," FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz said in a statement. "As an agency we're charged with enforcing the law, and endless extensions delay enforcement."
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202458982652
What is LPO? By Doug Peters
Legal Process Outsourcing or LPO as it is popularly known is a practice through which law firms seek legal assistance and services from another law firms from either within or outside their own country. The kind of services sought by the firms outsourcing are legal research, writing legal documents, review of documents, drafting of pleadings, contracts management, litigation support, document discovery, Intellectual Property focussed services and patents services (patent prior art search, patent portfolio management, patent optimisation and patent/trademark filing processes).
LPO has become a compelling option for most companies in the west. Law firms in the US and the UK have seen the worst economic fallout in the past few years. As a result they have started looking for options to reduce their costs. Legal services are very expensive in the US and the UK with hourly rates for lawyers and consultants touching the roof. This has helped countries like India and Philippines in getting a lot of legal work from abroad. The LPO market was valued at $320 million in the year 2008 by Value Notes research and is likely to touch $640 million by the end of 2010. Pricing has been the key driver for legal firms wanting to outsource.
Though legal work in India and other major outsourcing hubs has grown in the past couple of years, there have been a few challenges as well. Some lawyers in the US and the UK have started compromising on their fees due to the economic meltdown. Some fledgling companies doing legal work in countries like India have not been able to deliver as promised. This has resulted in many companies in the US looking for legal firms within their country to ensure all processes involved are ethically followed. Besides, there are concerns looming large over the confidentiality of clients and the ethical composition of the outsourcing firms.
India has become one of the most popular destinations for companies wanting to outsource legal work. This is so because there are certain very obvious advantages like availability of English speaking, US and UK graduated, qualified attorneys working at less expensive rates. Besides the Indian legal system is much like its counterparts in the west.
Legal process outsourcing is a major chunk of the outsourcing pie. Though there are limitations and challenges surrounding this, we can expect only growth in this sector. If large and experienced BPO companies manage to work on the ethical and quality aspects of this vertical, we can expect unprecedented growth in the coming years.
http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid=1119730&CFID=35732806&CFTOKEN=61680156
LPO has become a compelling option for most companies in the west. Law firms in the US and the UK have seen the worst economic fallout in the past few years. As a result they have started looking for options to reduce their costs. Legal services are very expensive in the US and the UK with hourly rates for lawyers and consultants touching the roof. This has helped countries like India and Philippines in getting a lot of legal work from abroad. The LPO market was valued at $320 million in the year 2008 by Value Notes research and is likely to touch $640 million by the end of 2010. Pricing has been the key driver for legal firms wanting to outsource.
Though legal work in India and other major outsourcing hubs has grown in the past couple of years, there have been a few challenges as well. Some lawyers in the US and the UK have started compromising on their fees due to the economic meltdown. Some fledgling companies doing legal work in countries like India have not been able to deliver as promised. This has resulted in many companies in the US looking for legal firms within their country to ensure all processes involved are ethically followed. Besides, there are concerns looming large over the confidentiality of clients and the ethical composition of the outsourcing firms.
India has become one of the most popular destinations for companies wanting to outsource legal work. This is so because there are certain very obvious advantages like availability of English speaking, US and UK graduated, qualified attorneys working at less expensive rates. Besides the Indian legal system is much like its counterparts in the west.
Legal process outsourcing is a major chunk of the outsourcing pie. Though there are limitations and challenges surrounding this, we can expect only growth in this sector. If large and experienced BPO companies manage to work on the ethical and quality aspects of this vertical, we can expect unprecedented growth in the coming years.
http://www.ideamarketers.com/?articleid=1119730&CFID=35732806&CFTOKEN=61680156
Legal Services In India by Tim Jhonson
Every couple wants to a child who can take forward their genes and legacy after they leave this world. Ability to bear child is the biggest boon for a female that nature has blessed her with. Unfortunately some couples are denied this happiness because of reasons associated with husband, wife or both.
Assuming the proper initial inquires have been made and adequately addressed, what are the cost savings reasonably attainable by an outsourcing U.S. law firm and its clients? Answering that question necessarily involves a comparative analysis of revenue and expenses.
What is the future like for LPO? While some of the largest firms and corporations in the world are using these services to handle their legal needs, will it hold up? The services offered are very effective and affordable, but what will happen in the years to come?
The above tasks can be time consuming and hence quite expensive if done by a qualified legal services provider in a country like the United States who charges tens or even hundreds of dollars by the hour. But the same work can be done very efficiently in countries like India for rates as low as one-fifth of what it costs in the US.
With money getting increasingly difficult to earn keep and manage hiring legal outsourcing attorneys seems practical. The attorneys help you in finding the best professionals at the lowest cost as possible. What does this translate into?
After BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) it is now LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing and KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) that is wooing the Indian lawyer. It is natural for the Indian lawyer to opt for foreign projects as they get paid much better.
Top notch law firms focusing on LPO in India are capable of researching almost any legal issue and can providie services as is required by clients in the US or Canada. LPO is a great new way to reduce the cost of litigation in the US. It helps the client and also the law firms.
Additionally the advantage of time zone, familiarity with common law doctrines and easy availability of English speaking lawyers attracts more foreign firms to opt for LPO services India. Indian attorney with UK/US qualifications are also sought after which is perfectly fulfilled by the top legal services India.
The law firms and in house legal departments have enjoyed the benefits of a quicker turnaround time. The work left with the Indian entity at the end of their day is completed and available when they arrive at work the next day. These have become as important as the other core reason for outsourcing, namely saving of costs.
The provisional patent specifications must include a proper title with a written and brief description, some drawings if required and/or model or sample if needed. However a complete specification would also include the best mode, deposition like microorganisms and claims apart from the aforementioned.
If one is just starting out on BPO (business process outsourcing) for the first time, it is better to choose out the independent third party contractor which usually will have its own infrastructure and manpower in the offshore country from where the service is executed.
Assuming the proper initial inquires have been made and adequately addressed, what are the cost savings reasonably attainable by an outsourcing U.S. law firm and its clients? Answering that question necessarily involves a comparative analysis of revenue and expenses.
What is the future like for LPO? While some of the largest firms and corporations in the world are using these services to handle their legal needs, will it hold up? The services offered are very effective and affordable, but what will happen in the years to come?
The above tasks can be time consuming and hence quite expensive if done by a qualified legal services provider in a country like the United States who charges tens or even hundreds of dollars by the hour. But the same work can be done very efficiently in countries like India for rates as low as one-fifth of what it costs in the US.
With money getting increasingly difficult to earn keep and manage hiring legal outsourcing attorneys seems practical. The attorneys help you in finding the best professionals at the lowest cost as possible. What does this translate into?
After BPO (Business Process Outsourcing) it is now LPO (Legal Process Outsourcing and KPO (Knowledge Process Outsourcing) that is wooing the Indian lawyer. It is natural for the Indian lawyer to opt for foreign projects as they get paid much better.
Top notch law firms focusing on LPO in India are capable of researching almost any legal issue and can providie services as is required by clients in the US or Canada. LPO is a great new way to reduce the cost of litigation in the US. It helps the client and also the law firms.
Additionally the advantage of time zone, familiarity with common law doctrines and easy availability of English speaking lawyers attracts more foreign firms to opt for LPO services India. Indian attorney with UK/US qualifications are also sought after which is perfectly fulfilled by the top legal services India.
The law firms and in house legal departments have enjoyed the benefits of a quicker turnaround time. The work left with the Indian entity at the end of their day is completed and available when they arrive at work the next day. These have become as important as the other core reason for outsourcing, namely saving of costs.
The provisional patent specifications must include a proper title with a written and brief description, some drawings if required and/or model or sample if needed. However a complete specification would also include the best mode, deposition like microorganisms and claims apart from the aforementioned.
If one is just starting out on BPO (business process outsourcing) for the first time, it is better to choose out the independent third party contractor which usually will have its own infrastructure and manpower in the offshore country from where the service is executed.
How Outsourcing Can Boost Your Business By Sture Nyberg
Outsourcing today is rising as one of the most profitable ways of handling business. Many business houses and big companies are realizing the importance and the advantages of giving their projects a right way peak with excellence outside their boundaries and at a rate much below their general in-house prices and that is why, its popularity too is on a high.
What Outsourcing is?
As it is more about involving a third party and transferring the most part of the responsibilities to them, so, the parent organization is in a kind of relief and finds this system quite reasonable and worth investing. As mentioned above, it sometimes a process of talent hunt, sometime a cost cutting and sometime and most commonly the both.
The advantages of outsourcing are just many and the very important ones that everybody generally looks for and finds beneficial:
Lowers down costs: Money plays the key role in everything and when outsourcing can save such great amount of bucks then who wouldn't want to opt for it? The first money saving factor in this type of business is that the employees will not have to be paid wages. So, the sure shot expenses of paying salary get deducted. Another advantageous factor in this regard only is that the company gets exempted from paying a higher amount as tax. There is no expense for the employees who are working separately and they alone are responsible for all their costs related to that of their social security, their own withholding and miscellaneous things. Moreover, another great money saving factor is that when companies give out the projects to some other firms and clients who are based out of their country, the expenses gets lower. They can manage to pay much lower an amount to such clients than they would usually have to pay.
An ongoing process: As the business of outsourcing gives one enough scope and space to think more and do more through it, a temporary business too can be stretched and make run on a long note. The process gets more like an ongoing system and thus, this business do not die easily.
Lowers the work pressure/load: When the companies give away the most part of their business and responsibilities to other organizations the responsibilities gets reduced. This leaves them with more time and scope to think about other important things like the inclusion of new sectors and new implementations in their main business.
Easy change or replacement of employee: As the third party organization is not being hired on a permanent basis and they do not usually be on contract based relation, the mother company can at anytime stop continuing their works with them. Also, much time gets saved in choosing a third party and there is no lengthy procedure of hiring them. It mostly depends on the experience and previous records of the firm based on which it wins project for it.
So, the points above show how beneficial Outsourcing would be for the overall growth of your business. Outsourcing done with a proper strategy by following up the service at the best possible level for his activities, you are just more than assured to get the best colors.
Irrespective of the type of your business or the product depth & width, use of Social Media Marketing can boost up the business you are doing or you are about to enter with me.What Outsourcing is?
As it is more about involving a third party and transferring the most part of the responsibilities to them, so, the parent organization is in a kind of relief and finds this system quite reasonable and worth investing. As mentioned above, it sometimes a process of talent hunt, sometime a cost cutting and sometime and most commonly the both.
The advantages of outsourcing are just many and the very important ones that everybody generally looks for and finds beneficial:
Lowers down costs: Money plays the key role in everything and when outsourcing can save such great amount of bucks then who wouldn't want to opt for it? The first money saving factor in this type of business is that the employees will not have to be paid wages. So, the sure shot expenses of paying salary get deducted. Another advantageous factor in this regard only is that the company gets exempted from paying a higher amount as tax. There is no expense for the employees who are working separately and they alone are responsible for all their costs related to that of their social security, their own withholding and miscellaneous things. Moreover, another great money saving factor is that when companies give out the projects to some other firms and clients who are based out of their country, the expenses gets lower. They can manage to pay much lower an amount to such clients than they would usually have to pay.
An ongoing process: As the business of outsourcing gives one enough scope and space to think more and do more through it, a temporary business too can be stretched and make run on a long note. The process gets more like an ongoing system and thus, this business do not die easily.
Lowers the work pressure/load: When the companies give away the most part of their business and responsibilities to other organizations the responsibilities gets reduced. This leaves them with more time and scope to think about other important things like the inclusion of new sectors and new implementations in their main business.
Easy change or replacement of employee: As the third party organization is not being hired on a permanent basis and they do not usually be on contract based relation, the mother company can at anytime stop continuing their works with them. Also, much time gets saved in choosing a third party and there is no lengthy procedure of hiring them. It mostly depends on the experience and previous records of the firm based on which it wins project for it.
So, the points above show how beneficial Outsourcing would be for the overall growth of your business. Outsourcing done with a proper strategy by following up the service at the best possible level for his activities, you are just more than assured to get the best colors.
http://ezinearticles.com/?How-Outsourcing-Can-Boost-Your-Business&id=4136661
Law firm of the 21st century - the clients’ revolution
There is no question that the worst recession for 80 years has had a major impact on the legal sector. General counsel are under pressure to deliver more for less. In turn, they are demanding reduced costs and greater value from their legal advisers. Quite rightly they want accountability when it comes to how their budgets are being spent and more imagination when it comes to fee structures.
For law firms this has meant facing up to challenge and change. Whilst some are holding fast, hoping that the boom times will return soon, the smarter ones are adapting for the longer term.
This report shows that the legal landscape has changed permanently and more quickly than anyone imagined when we produced our original 21st century law firm report in 2008. Even before the credit crunch, it was clear that business people were disillusioned with ever increasing fees, wasteful practices and an unwillingness to change. Harsh economic times have pointedly polarised these issues.
During the recession we, as a high quality provider of legal services, set about changing our business to provide greater efficiency, better service and realistic pricing. Innovative use of technology and the possibility of moving work to lower cost centres are all part of our agenda to deliver more for less. We think that others will have to follow in order to survive.
Whilst little good has come out of this recession, the much needed reality check for lawyers is, perhaps, one positive by-product. Is the time ripe for a revolution in the delivery of legal services? This report suggests, that the revolution has now arrived.
http://www.legalweeklaw.com/legalweeklaw/view_abstract/4043/practice-area/corporate/partnerships-and-llps/law-firm-21st-century-clients-revolution
For law firms this has meant facing up to challenge and change. Whilst some are holding fast, hoping that the boom times will return soon, the smarter ones are adapting for the longer term.
This report shows that the legal landscape has changed permanently and more quickly than anyone imagined when we produced our original 21st century law firm report in 2008. Even before the credit crunch, it was clear that business people were disillusioned with ever increasing fees, wasteful practices and an unwillingness to change. Harsh economic times have pointedly polarised these issues.
During the recession we, as a high quality provider of legal services, set about changing our business to provide greater efficiency, better service and realistic pricing. Innovative use of technology and the possibility of moving work to lower cost centres are all part of our agenda to deliver more for less. We think that others will have to follow in order to survive.
Whilst little good has come out of this recession, the much needed reality check for lawyers is, perhaps, one positive by-product. Is the time ripe for a revolution in the delivery of legal services? This report suggests, that the revolution has now arrived.
http://www.legalweeklaw.com/legalweeklaw/view_abstract/4043/practice-area/corporate/partnerships-and-llps/law-firm-21st-century-clients-revolution
No effect of Obama’s tax reforms on LPO industry in India
Outsourcing to India has always been and always be on the higher side whatever the case may be. There are many reasons fueling this fact and the most prominent of them are: India’s cost, quality advantage, young knowledge workers and its time zone that are making companies not just from the U.S. but from around the world to outsource jobs to India. No company wants to go bankrupt. Every company wants profits. And one of the best ways to earn profits in these recessionary times is surely outsourcing.
Mr. Barack Obama seems to be oblivious about the fact that in the days of globalization, by introducing protectionist policies he would not solve any purpose. By introducing tax reforms he may be able to revive the United States from the recession faster than expected and may be able to generate ‘few’ jobs in the field of market research, manufacturing etc. but surely wouldn’t be able to stop the outsourcing industry from flourishing. He should understand that it’s not about the U.S. anymore. The world works as a single unit with everyone connected to everyone in some or the other way.
Law firms and in-house counsel and attorneys wouldn’t be affected by the potential implications of President Obama’s policy that will seek to curb tax breaks on companies that outsource, but mostly it could affect relations with India, which is one of the world’s biggest sources of Legal process outsourcing (LPO) services. Even if it seems like a bad news, practically it’s not. Right now, by outsourcing jobs to the LPO industry in India, the law firms, legal counsels and attorneys in the U.S are saving up to 50% to 70% on their cost. Even if there are no tax breaks, this figure would end up close to 30% to 50% which is still a huge figure and can overpower the thought of taking away jobs from the LPO industry of India
Mr. Pankaj Parnami, Founder Director, KPO Consultants says “The LPO Industry would not be affected by the tax reforms. The lower costs and quality of service we provide from India will overpower these reforms and the overall effect would be nullified. There is no need to worry for India Inc.�
The current economic climate is forcing the U.S. companies to find more ways to manage spending, and outsourcing is a time-tested and appropriate decision. It is a catalyst for review of spending and use of capital. For every company that chooses to keep business functions in-house because of social backlash or political threats, there is another one who finds that the financial and organizational benefits are compelling enough to move non-core functions out of their company and offshore.
“The disparity between wage costs in the US and in leading offshore countries like India for similar jobs, output and quality is far too great to simply dismiss, especially when American CEOs have a fiduciary responsibility to shareholders.� says a top executive from a leading LPO firm.
http://applyandgo.com/blog/2010/03/no-effect-of-obama%E2%80%99s-tax-reforms-on-lpo-industry-in-india/
Advantages of working with Legal Process Outsourcing.
Q: What Can Legal Process Outsourcing do for Law Firms?
A:
A:
- Help law firms to save cost up to 40%.
- Provide faster turnaround time, reliable quality and professional support.
- Help in saving time and money by enabling them to utilize their human resources on core activities.
- Reduce on unnecessary overhead expenditures.
- Gives relief from recruiting and training personnel.
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