U.S. Legal Work Booms in India (60% annual growth)

[antigop]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/10/AR2008051002355.html

Legal process outsourcing is being called the next big thing in Indian business. It marks India's climb up the chain of outsourcing jobs -- from low-end, back-office service functions in call centers to high-value, skilled legal work.

In the past three years, the legal outsourcing industry here has grown about 60 percent annually. According to a report by research firm ValueNotes, the industry will employ about 24,000 people and earn revenue of $640 million by 2010.

Indian workers who once helped with legal transcription now offer services that include research, litigation support, document discovery and review, drafting of contracts and patent writing. The industry offers an attractive career path for many of the 300,000 Indians who enroll in law schools every year. India and the United States share a common-law legal system rooted in Britain's, and both conduct proceedings in English.

The explosion of opportunity here was triggered by what are known as "e-discovery laws," a set of U.S. regulations established in 2006 to govern the storage and management of electronic data for federal court actions. Overnight, the volume of information to be stored, archived, filtered and reviewed for litigation swelled. But there were not enough affordable lawyers or paralegals to do the work in the United States.

Note: "there were not enough AFFORDABLE lawyers or paralegals to do the work in the United States."

[Fredda Weinberg]

1. Dunno 'bout you, but I'm planning my trip to Bombay n/t

[Divernan]

5. Bombay's name has changed to Mumbai

[Fredda Weinberg]

7. Mrs Shah distinctly said, "When are you coming to Bombay?"

You don't have to tell me what the government calls it these days ...

[mrreowwr_kittty]

2. Yeah. Affordable to whom?

Why, to the people who want to pay them as little as possible, of course! :puke:

[Manifestor_of_Light]

3. Not affordable, huh???

For this I spent 12 years in college, including that doctorate. Hmmmmm.......

[OhioChick]

4. Soon all of the white collar jobs

will be outsourced....many are already gone. With that being said, NAFTA & CAFTA took care of most of the blue collar jobs....so what will be left?

Walmart greeter?

[antigop]

8. But people don't think THEIR jobs will be outsourced....

until it happens to them.

And then it's too late.

What's left? I dunno. I guess there's always teaching (until they convert everything to e-learning.)

[OhioChick]

9. You're Absolutely Right....

No one seems to care/notice until it happens to them. Teachers are out......they're getting laid off everywhere. I'm seriously beginning to believe that no job is safe unless it's something in the medical field regarding emergency care.

[antigop]

10. maybe plumbers, car mechanics, a/c repair.

but I doubt older workers will be able to transition to them.

Sometime ago I predicted that the suicide rate in this country will greatly increase.

I hope my prediction is wrong.

[OhioChick]

12. I hope your prediction is wrong...

However, I can see that happening.

Someone in my family is a plumber and that's out, too. He's saying that more and more people are fixing things themselves. Home Depot offers those "Do-It-Yourself" classes.....so why call a plumber if you don't have the extra cash? Take a free class at the local Home Depot and you can fix your plumbing woes yourself.

As for car repair, we fix our own here....always have. My Father always said that a woman should at least learn basic car maintenance....I learned further. ;-)

A/C you need certification, though.

What else can you come up with?

I'm finding this thread interesting. There isn't much that can't be done elsewhere or by another, is there?

[antigop]

13. Firefighters? Police work? Sports coaches? n/t

[OhioChick]

15. Firefighters and Police

are getting laid off everywhere too, due to strained budgets.
Cleveland is supposed to close another district soon. Bad idea....crime is through the roof, already.

As for Sports coaches.....are you talking Pro or Little League? I did Little League and it doesn't pay and Pro....let's just say that I have a much better chance of getting bit by a shark in Lake Erie. :)

[antigop]

17. Pro sports coaches -- also high school/college

Seems like the athletic budgets are never cut--just the arts.

[OhioChick]

20. Good Point....

The school levies that pass often go for sports programs whereas other areas are cut....like the arts, as you stated.

There won't be enough coaching jobs for all of the unemployed, though. Then what?

[antigop]

22. I don't think there will be enough jobs for all of the unemployed.I think we've dug a hole too deep

Sadly, that's why I think the suicide rate will increase.

FYI--pharmacists are in demand right now. A niece just graduated with a PharmD-- great starting offer. Have they replaced pharmacists with h1-b's yet?

[OhioChick]

26. There aren't enough decent paying jobs

for the unemployed now. Just imagine as times worsen. Scary thought.

My Sister is in the Pharmacy field. She said that insurance companies are pushing their members for "mail order" scripts. So while the average pharmacist is great for scripts that aren't taken that often.....what about the people that are forced into mail order........and I wonder where these mail order facilities are located? Haven't heard anything about H-1B's/Pharmacists, yet.

[antigop]

27. Yep, I have to get my scripts through mail order n/t

[antigop]

29. h1-b pharmacists....I found this...

http://www.rximmigration.com/

[OhioChick]

32. I Spoke too Soon....

"there is a current shortage of 7,000 employees in drug stores alone"

{Quote from your link.}

In response to your question in post #22 I suppose the answer would be "yes."

[barnel]

43. i have nothing against pharmacists, but

i had a pharamcist roomate in collage

nice enough guy, but him and his friends could be kind of obnoxious about all the money they were going to make

seemed to me, that all they really did, was take pills out of big bottles, and put them in little bottles

i thought my harder work in IT would give me more security

but i learned about the 'political component' of job security, meaning that if you get selected for sacrifice first, nothing else matters

it blew my mind that we were the first to go

[antigop]

14. I also predict lottery ticket sales will increase. n/t

[OhioChick]

16. Yeah.....

I won 3 bucks last week. (Took 6 bucks to get it) :woohoo:

[antigop]

19. Solar panel installers? n/t

[OhioChick]

21. How much do solar panels cost

and will the general public be able to afford them to begin with?

[antigop]

23. dunno. n/t

[OhioChick]

33. I did a quick search...

probably not that reliable.

Average size home...cost of solar panels:

Total cost for average home would likely be $16K....but then since the sun doesn't shine 24/7, you'd need a battery storage system which would double the price. Just a quick guess.

With all the foreclosures and job loss.....how many average people could afford this?

[antigop]

25. government workers -- a lot will be retiring

http://www.businessweek.com/1999/99_52/b3661110.htm

[OhioChick]

28. Retiring at what age?

People aren't retiring at younger ages like they used to. While that may sound promising in some states, here in Ohio...Government jobs are being slashed....not enough $$$$.

[antigop]

30. Federal employees needed evidently...see link

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/17/AR2008011703125.html

[OhioChick]

34. Interesting...

Bookmarked that one for tomorrow.

[Mountainman]

44. You can't take the place of a retiree very easy.

I work for a county government. I am 62 and a Cost Analyst II. You can't get my job when I leave because now you have to be a CPA just to apply. I got the job because of 20 years accounting experience as a controller.

When I retire and that could be when I'm 70, some other older person with my experience will get the job if it still exists.

Today you have to have more and more credentials to get a good job. Waiting for us geezers to retire won't get you there.

Now let's hear from the crowd that says I should lower my living standard by retiring so a younger person can raise their's

[OhioChick]

46. I don't think that anyone should retire if they chose not to....

I have several family members that are retirement age, but just cannot afford to. Last year, my Aunt was forced to leave a job she had been at for 40 years.....they replaced her with a 20 year old....and you know why. $$$$

[nichomachus]

37. In a just world

[OhioChick]

39. OMG....

:rofl:

[Divernan]

6. There is a surplus of lawyers in the states; many recent graduates

who will work VERY cheap just to get any kind of law job and some experience.

[ChromeFoundry]

11. Same goes for IT

... Manufacturing, Medical Diagnostics, etc...

[Manifestor_of_Light]

18. Law schools have been cranking out too many lawyers for a couple of decades now.

They don't cut back on enrollment; they like the tuition money. Also, many state universities have added law schools in the last decade or two.

Houston has three law schools; two state and one private school.

[JI7]

31. are there a significant number of these that are not qualified ?

the ones who aren't that good but end up taking public defender jobs since that's the only thing they can get. and then of course they do a horrible job of defending their client.

[WCGreen]

24. I am Joel Rahish Hyatt and you have my word on it...

[OhioChick]

35. Here's Another:

Diagnostic jobs the latest to be outsourced

Wednesday, May 7, 2008, Chandigarh, India

Ater business, knowledge and legal process outsourcing, Indian industries are now eyeing ‘diagnostics jobs’ outsourcing from other countries.

According to industry experts, a number of hospitals in the US and Europe are outsourcing laboratory and diagnostic tests to India as it helps in saving cost and money while maintaining quality.

The Indian diagnostics and pathology laboratory business is around USD 864 million and is growing at a rate of 20 per cent annually, they say.

Accordng to the FICCI, the size of the global clinical trials market was nearly USD 10 billion and estimated to have touched USD 26 billion by 2007. “Diagnostics and lab testing outsourcing is certainly the most potential business domain. We are trying to tap available opportunities in it,” says Dr G.S.K Velu, managing director, Metropolis Health Services India Ltd.


http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080507/jobs1.htm


More Penny-Pinching HMOs Outsource Americans’ Private Medical Data to India

If you’ve had some nasty or embarrassing illness in the past 12 months, perhaps an ailment so unusual or damning you’d prefer to hide it from your employer, friends and loved ones, then here’s a shocker: There’s a good chance that a stranger in far off India knows all about it. And the kicker–it was your health-care provider that told him of your secret battle with plantar warts, rampant hirsutism, and pathological addiction to eBay.

Like most other parts of corporate America, the health-care industry is quickly learning that there are enormous savings to be had through offshore outsourcing. At an increasing rate, insurance companies, hospitals, and pharmaceutical manufacturers are farming out to cheap-labor countries everything from claims processing to diagnostics to drug testing. Total spending on offshore outsourcing by the U.S. health-care industry will grow from $321.7 million in 2005 to an expected $575.3 million in 2008, according to IDC.

Along with that work is going gigabytes of private, patient data–information so sensitive that it could be used to deny someone a job or make them ineligible for life insurance. There’s a widely held myth that federal regulations like HIPAA prevent that sort of data from going abroad. That’s not the case. As long as the foreign processing company adheres to U.S. rules concerning privacy and security it’s permitted.

http://www.oocenter.com/blog/archives/2006/07/25/more-penny-pinching-hmos-outsource-americans-private-medical-data-to-india/

[ihavenobias]

36. K & R

[treestar]

38. Litigation support, maybe, and it could be the big firms doing it

Ultimately a lawyer has to be admitted to the bar of the state, though. Indian lawyers would not be qualified to advise on U.S. law (and vice versa).

This sounds like paralegal/legal secretarial work. Indians speak English and so generally could churn out the documents.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

40. Paralegal work seems to be dead, in my experience.

Has been for several years. I'm talking paralegal work with a B.A. in biology (useful for medical testimony), a court reporting degree and nearly 20 years of reporting trials and hearing all sorts of cases from J. P. Court to Federal, and a Juris Doctor. And I was a legal secretary before all that!!!

No dice. They don't give a shit about competent people; they are threatened by us.

[riderinthestorm]

47. My niece was just about to start classes this summer for a paralegal cert

She thought it might be "recession proof" (or as much as anything can be...).

But now she better worry about outsourcing!? :crazy:

[elehhhhna]

41. Yep. Document production. Note that the potential for conflict-of-interest issues as well as

outright old-fashined corporate/legal espionage is astonishing.

[barnel]

42. I wouldnt mind seeing immigration law outsourced

and let the traitors get a taste of their own medicine

[OhioChick]

45. Good idea....

Also send the big execs of US corporations to move to India (or wherever they're outsourcing/offshoring to) to live.