Direct Supervisory Authority And Making Systematic And Rigorous Legal Process Outsourcing Decisions 11

Applying the above paragraph in the offshoring of legal work context:

1.     The parties should enter into short divisible contracts not exceeding 6 months.

2.     The first divisible contract should be for a set fixed or monthly fee for transparent or codifiable services with a single person from the offshore provider responsible for performing under the contract. The contract must include daily contact information including a video conferencing identification name and personal mobile number for the parties and responsible person. The contract should have a Monthly Performance and Fee Review Clause requiring the parties to review performance and fee adequacy each month and the contracting lawyer must assessed if more training is needed or the fees should be increase before the end of the contract, however, the provider cannot request increased fees until the contract is renewed.  This clause forces the provider to be realistic about fees before signing the contract. The contract should not be amended to add opaque services. 

3.     There should be at least one renewal of the transparent or codifiable contract before entering into an opaque contract.

4.     The opaque contract must include all the clauses of the transparent or codifiable contract plus the Draft Shell Clause discussed above. The performance terms must be narrowly tailored. For example, the lawyer should specify the type of motions that the provider must work on and not delegate all motions. 

5.     There must be human voice contact between the parties on a regular basis. Texting, emailing and messaging is No substitute for real party communications. 

By using the above guidelines the lawyer can have a successful offshore contract and maintain direct supervisory authority over the offshore provider.