International Outsourcing of the Legal Profession

Attention: legal and business writers and editors

Media contact: Susan Gluss, UC Berkeley School of Law, 510.642.6936, mailto:sgluss@law.berkeley.edu

What: A one-day conference, “International Outsourcing of the Legal Profession,” will examine the risks and benefits of this new but rapidly growing field. In the last few years, the number of legal outsourcing firms in India alone has grown from a mere handful to over a hundred. Outsourcing has been the buzzword in the fields of engineering and hi-tech, but can it successfully operate within the complex, knowledge-based industry of law? What are the legal and ethical minefields that companies need to know about? What impact will outsourcing have on the job market for aspiring young lawyers? Academics, practitioners, industry leaders, and economists will address these and other concerns. 

The conference is co-sponsored by research centers at UC Berkeley School of Law: The Institute for Global Challenges and the Law, and the Berkeley Center for Law & Technology.

When: Friday, April 25, from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Where: Bancroft Hotel, 2680 Bancroft Way, Berkeley

Who: Conference participants and their topics include:

Connie Brenton, assistant general counsel, Sun Microsystems, Inc., on trends in legal outsourcing;
Bart Eppenauer, chief patent counsel, MicrosoftCorp., on the challenges of outsourcing patent work;
Dan Lang, director of Patents and Standards, CiscoSystems, Inc., on the risks and benefits of corporate outsourcing ;
Robert Lee , executive director, Legal Forest, on his recent report about hidden costs and legal ethics of outsourcing;
Mark Ross, director of business development, LawScribe, on the outsourcer’s perspective;
Douglas Hendricks, partner, Morrison & Foerster, on ethics and risk management.

Details: The program is free and open to the media. Registration and $150 fee required by the general public. To register, contact Emily Arntz, earntz@law.berkeley.edu, 510-642-7830.