Ever get the feeling that people are doing something but just not talking about it?
It could apply to large law firms and law departments that outsource and offshore legal work. Now the secret may be out. Well-known legal blogger David Lat at Above the Law posted A Very Special Invitation from Seyfarth Shaw, which displays a Seyfarth invitation to lawyers to “join us for a cocktail reception to welcome the group of attorneys visiting from Manthan Services in Bangalore, India. The group is here to learn how we can together work to provide high quality and cost-effective legal service in specific areas. We encourage you to come to the reception, meet the Manthan team, and discuss your practice and ways that Manthan can help us grow our business.”
A Wall Street Journal Law Post reports a comment from a firm spokesperson: “Seyfarth Shaw is always exploring innovative ways to efficiently and effectively serve our clients and grow our business; this is one such example.”
Bravo. My 3rd blog post in May 2003 was about outsourcing and offshoring legal work to India. This perhaps unexpected PR seems favorable to me and the firm’s comment on the mark. Any client or prospect thrills at the idea that its BigLaw firm seeks ways to work more effectively.
With the proverbial cat out of the bag, perhaps other firms and departments will be less timid about being more effective and efficient.