Ryder's Scriboard enters atypical 'best friend' alliance with LPO Overlegen
Kochhar & Co's former technology and media law partner Rodney Ryder who started up IP and IT boutique practice Scriboard in April has entered into a strategic alliance with legal process outsourcing (LPO) company Overlegen. Read More

US Pro Bono Legal Work Steady
The pro bono efforts of major US law firms held steady in 2009 despite the continued pressures of the economic downturn, according to the Pro Bono Institute’s 2009 Law Firm Pro Bono Challenge Report. In 2009, 134 of the nation’s law firms performed 4,867,820 hours of pro bono work, an increase of nearly 24,000 hours from 2008. Read More

Attorney from CIA will prosecute terrorism cases in Va
Andrew Peterson joins the terrorism and national security unit after serving as a lawyer with the Central Intelligence Agency's Office of General Counsel, where he received the 2010 Intelligence Community Junior Lawyer of the Year Award. Read More

Wipro to provide legal process outsourcing to Microsoft
The business process outsourcing (BPO) division of Wipro Technologies will provide legal process outsourcing (LPO) to Microsoft's intellectual property (IP) and licensing group worldwide, the Indian IT bellwether said Wednesday. "We have developed IP domain expertise and ability to work on a scale required for Microsoft's vast IP portfolio. Read More

Top lawyers show signs of recovery
THE UK’s top 100 law firms enjoyed a minor resurgence at the start of 2010, as fee income and chargeable hours increased in the three months to April, according to figures out today. While the revival has not generated the fees seen before the banking crisis, fee income grew by an average of 4.6 per cent, and chargeable hours by 8.3 per cent, said Deloitte’s quarterly legal sector survey. Read More

Law Firm at the Center of SEC Revolving Door Investigation
Right smack in the middle of this Wall Street Journal story about the Securities and Exchange Commission's revolving door problem comes this nugget: The agency's inspector general is investigating a law firm that has hired a number of former SEC lawyers. Read More

Law firm criticises government plans
Law firm CMS Cameron McKenna has said that the government’s plan to split supervision and enforcement of the financial services industry will “dissipate responsibility”. Read More

Offshoring: 25 Most Dangerous Cities for Outsourcing in 2010
In a few days, the Black Book of Outsourcing will release its annual ranking of the most dangerous outsourcing spots around the globe, as perceived by outsourcing buyers and corporate development leaders. The research, which also recognizes the most reliable offshore outsourcing hot spots, is chock full of changes in the rankings. Read More

UK Data Protection Laws Out of Touch With Europe, Says Lawyer
Law firm Field Fisher Waterhouse has warned that the UK's data protection laws are not in line with European legislation. The law firm says that this disparity may lead to complications in the future. Read More

Asian Americans See Opportunity in Kagan Nomination
For the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, Elena Kagan’s nomination to the Supreme Court presents an opportunity to make history. No Asian or Pacific American has ever served in any of the Justice Department’s top four slots — Attorney General, Deputy Attorney General, Associate Attorney General or Solicitor General — but if Kagan is confirmed, odds are good that will change. Read More

Outsourcing: It’s Not Just About the Money
It’s been a while since we checked in with the coming junior associate apocalypse that is legal outsourcing. Rest assured, LPOs around the globe are working hard to make sure that the Biglaw junior associate becomes extinct — at least as we know it. Read More

LPO project sees Pinsents create enterprise role
Kissack was responsible for the introduction of the firm’s legal process outsourcing initiative, which saw it become the first firm to send work previously done by UK lawyers to South Africa on behalf of its litigation department. Read More

The growing impact of technology and globalization on the practice of law
Legal Process Outsourcing – From solo practitioners to large law firms, the legal profession is increasingly embracing outsourcing to assist in providing legal services to clients. Such delegation of tasks to third parties, whether locally or offshore includes legal tasks such as research, drafting and document review, as well as certain non-legal tasks. Read More

Foreign law firms will not be allowed in India: BCI chief
The Bar Council of India's (BCI) new chairman and solicitor-general of India, Gopal Subramaniam recently ruled out any possibility of allowing foreign law firms to practice in the country. He said the BCI will now play an active role in improving legal education by working for a pan-India common law syllabus by July. Read More

CPA Global to hire 2,000 lawyers in India by 2011
CPA Global intends to hire about 2,000 lawyers in India over the next two years as it sees an increase in the number of litigation and transaction (merger & acquisitions) support work coming from the US market. The $1-billion legal process outsourcing (LPO) firm would hire 500 lawyers in 2010 and the rest in 2011. At present, CPA has about 750 lawyers based out of its delivery centres in Noida and Gurgaon. Read More

Denton Wilde Sapte joins the rush for transatlantic law firm mergers
MERGERS and acquisitions are rattling along at quite a pace among transatlantic law firms – unlike at the corporate clients they service, many of which are still finding the M&A game a little hard going at the moment, not least of course Prudential. Read More

Lawyers flooded by calls on immigration laws
Immigration and employment attorneys say they are getting frequent calls from employers concerned about such issues in light of Arizona's new immigration law and the state employer-sanctions law that took effect in 2008. Read More

Lockheed says Comey to leave as general counsel
In a company statement, Comey said he was excited by the chance to take on a "broader leadership role" at Bridgewater. He will remain as Lockheed Martin general counsel through June 24 and will serve on the company's executive management team through the summer, Lockheed added. Read More

Awards mark legal outsourcing anniversary
The high profile deal between Rio Tinto and CPA Global has set a benchmark for the LSO industry, proving that the outsourcing model can work on a large scale. As a direct result of the relationship, Rio Tinto has already saved more than $14 million on its annual legal spend. Read More

Baker & McKenzie elects Brazilian as its chairman
US LAW firm Baker & McKenzie has appointed Brazilian Eduardo Leite as chairman, marking the first time a large legal practice has turned to the emerging markets for a leader.  Leite, who currently practises in the firm’s Sao Paolo office and serves as executive vice president of the China-Brazil Business Council, will replace outgoing chairman John Conroy when he steps down later this year. Read More

Dechert’s CEO to step down
Dechert L.L.P., one of the nation's largest and most profitable law firms, announced Thursday that its chairman and chief executive officer, Barton J. Winokur, will step down next year and be replaced as chairman by Andrew J. Levander, a top white-collar defense lawyer based in New York. Read More