Microsoft to outsource general legal work to India

[ChromeFoundry]

Source: Law Society Gazette

Thursday 18 February 2010 by James Dean


Software giant Microsoft will begin outsourcing general legal work to India after signing a deal with legal process outsourcing (LPO) company CPA Global. The news comes as CPA outlined plans to expand its Indian workforce from 600 to 1,000 by the end of 2011, and hinted at opening another outsourcing centre.

CPA said that it will be taking on ‘multi-jurisdictional legal research’ for Microsoft, but could not give further details, citing client confidentiality. Microsoft has outsourced intellectual property (IP) work to CPA since 2005, although no lawyers work on the IP team.

In June last year, Rio Tinto announced an outsourcing deal with CPA which the mining giant forecast would cut 20% from its annual legal spend. CPA lawyers review and draft contracts, undertake legal research and review documents on behalf of Rio Tinto. Leah Cooper, former managing attorney at Rio Tinto, joined CPA Global’s executive team this week. She will lead the strategy and development of CPA Global’s legal services outsourcing business.

CPA spokesman Venu Nair said that the south Indian cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chennai are being considered as locations for a new CPA office.



Read more: http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/microsoft-outsource-general-legal-work-india

[KeepItReal]

1. Because when I think United States jurisprudence and legalese, I think India.

:sarcasm:

[fascisthunter]

2. how about Microsoft just get the F out of the US

go utilize the social infrastructure of another country and not ours.

This shit just pisses me off... no loyalty to country... NONE!

[Hannah Bell]

11. but bill gates is such a beloved philanthropist!

[fascisthunter]

12. that put a smile on my face

I needed that

[WriteDown]

14. Bill Gates doesn't run Microsoft.

:shrug:

[Hannah Bell]

15. lol. you're funny.

[WriteDown]

16. Usually the truth isn't that funny?

:shrug:

[Hannah Bell]

17. lol again. he just owns a billion shares of it. plus hired its putative leadership.

plus he's on the board.

yeah, he doesn't "run" it. i'm certain he just cashes his checks.

lol.

[WriteDown]

20. So you think he's running things behind the scenes?

Now that's funny. 1 Billion = 9.6 percent of outstanding shares. I guess GE is still run by Jack Welch too. And Chrysler is still under the iron-fist of Lee Iacocca. :rofl:

[Hannah Bell]

22. whatever you say. that's *over* 1 billion shares, btw. i wonder if jack welch owned

10% of ge. I don't think so. Nor do I think he founded GE, owned its patents, etc. Nor did he pick his successor, nor did he continue on the board once he retired.

jack welch = employee.

bill gates = founder & owner.

see, that's the problem with people at DU; their political education has been so stunted that they can't even tell the difference between owners & well-paid workers.

welch = hatchet man for the owners.

ps: 10% = controlling interest, generally.

[WriteDown]

23. I think Welch is worth about 720M.....

Now his salary was nowhere near this, so you do the math.

I'm still trying to figure out why you think that Bill Gates made the call on this. Do you even know if it was a board decision?

Do you work at the new US iPad manufacturing plant?

[OhioChick]

24. Bill, is that you?

:)

[WriteDown]

25. Oh......how.....I.....WISH!!!!

:)

[OregonBlue]

3. I'm so sick of these traitorous mega corps. They could care less about this country. Only their

bottom lines and personal fortunes.

[OhioChick]

4. Fuck M$...

They should just become an Indian company.

[WriteDown]

26. Why? Who employs more in the US, MS or Apple? nt

[OhioChick]

27. God only knows.

:)

[bitchkitty]

34. Why are you such a corporate advocate?

You always, without fail, take the corporation's side in issues like these.

Why?

[WriteDown]

35. No, I just point out the hypocrisy...

You ill rarely see a thread decrying Apple's Chinese manufacturing or the lack of a Steve Jobs Foundation. I love both Apple and MS products(proud iPhone user), but I grow tired of the one-sidedness.

[SpeechlessDem]

5. Understand the situation

You can hate it as much as you want but don't completely blame Micrsoft!
You think MS is the only company outsourcing to India or China?
Almost every company is doing that now and guess what, soon even more and more will do it.

Don't blame the company, blame U.S. regulations.
It's mostly the fault of Republicans and their stupid regulations.
Do you know how much money U.S lost and how many companies either outsourced or offshored to asia after sarbanes-oxley for example?

It's important not to blindly hate but also understand the problem, it's the only way to stop it.

Also it's not about Billy Gates but also all the other shareholders, yes billy is chairman yes, but there's others too. Because of the FED and Treasury dept. and the mass corruption our economy is plummeting.

Think about this, this news comes just when:

Americans: Get ready for tax increases "that aren't even imaginable" to pay off national debt
http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/national-debt-budget-deficit-scary-forecast-taxpayers/story?id=9854459

Fed Reserve bank president warns of debt catastrophe for U.S.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c918b8dc-1b37-11df-953f-00144feab49a.html

Shouldn't we look at the bigger picture?

[elehhhhna]

6. Interesting trend, HUGE mistake. Ya don't let people work on your proprietary

ANYTHING if you can't control them...let alone identify them. How many rupees does it cost to bribe an underpaid Indian employee to reveal trade secrets, intellectual property, etc.? Not many.

[mac56]

7. Well, if they're now starting to outsource attorneys...

the tipping point can't be far behind.

[UpInArms]

19. I can hardly wait until we are outsourcing politicians

:snarf:

[WriteDown]

8. Hmm...It's outsourcing....but it's bloodsucking attorneys.....

It's a wash!

j/k

[samsingh]

9. this may bring legal fees down to a more reasonable point.

[musiclawyer]

10. Yes legal fees are too high

But its because private law firms are dinosaurs. There really is no need to be paying rent or even buying space in swanky offices. Lawyer still practice like it's 1910. There is no earthly reason to be charging per hour for routine tasks. And even special tasks should have caps. Likewise, no reason to pay new attorneys who don't know squat six figures just out of school. The model is broken. That plus other issues identified above should really make the big high end law firms think about what they hell they are doing. Expertise should be compensated. But the inflated infrastructure supporting such expertise can and should be demolished.

[newscott]

13. I work with attorneys every day and there are

many things they still do the "old way". But things are changing. Unfortunately, it will probably impact my work negatively. :(

[closeupready]

29. I can't quite figure out what your point is. That nobody needs lawyers?

Or that they are paid 'too much'? How much should they be paid? Where should they gather to practice law?

[UpInArms]

18. and, do I get to ask, what United State state's bar did these "indians" pass?

and how do they get to practice law here?

[musiclawyer]

21. The can't practice here.

But they will pracrice law for the benefit of a client here that gets signed off by a real lawyer here. Lawyer simply get paid for his "review" of their work. If Congress wanted to stop this cold they could. But they won't

[queenjane]

28. I considered training to be a paralegal

a few years back. Then I started reading reports that paralegal work was being outsourced to India (much of it is research, which is what I wanted to do). I decided there was no point going into debt and attending school for several years, at night, while working, only to find no positions. Ergo, I have stayed put.

I don't think any profession is safe any longer.

[ljm2002]

30. There oughtta be a law! n/t

[ProudDad]

32. Don't expect the Demorepublitarians to pass one though (n/t)

[ProudDad]

31. Hell, it's only fair. My last computer job was outsourced to

Redmond, Washington...

The final straw that got me out of the computer business altogether...

[NashVegas]

33. AWESOME! This Is the Most Fantastic News We Could Get

Now that outsourcing is reaching this high up the ladder and threatening lawyers watch some fine outrage get handed down.