Board OKs opinion on overseas outsourcing.

A proposed ethics advisory opinion on outsourcing paralegal work overseas has won approval from the Bar Board of Governors, but the issue will be studied further to see if regulation is needed on outsourcing, whether domestic or foreign.

The board, at its July 25 meeting in Clearwater, voted to approve Proposed Advisory Opinion 07-02 with a change recommended by the Board Review Committee on Professional Ethics.

The opinion, originally drafted by the Professional Ethics Committee, holds generally that there is no ethical prohibition on a lawyer sending paralegal work to a company in another country. It does, however, note that offshoring the work may require the lawyer to take extra steps to ensure client information is kept confidential and that the lawyer "should" inform the client that information is being sent to another country.

Committee Chair Steve Chaykin said the additional language concerns the handling of sensitive information obtained from third parties or opposing parties.

The extra language suggested by the committee and approved by the board reads:

"In addition to concerns regarding the confidentiality of client information, there are concerns about disclosure of sensitive information of others, such as an opposing party or third party. In outsourcing, there is the possibility that information of others will be disclosed in addition to the disclosure of client information. Lawyers should be mindful of any obligations under law regarding disclosure of sensitive information of opposing parties and third parties, particularly where the information concerns medical records or financial information."

Chaykin said the committee considered but ultimately recommended against additional language which would have said the lawyer should or must inform opposing or third parties if any of their sensitive information would be sent overseas.

"That language ... is the most controversial in that it would require notice be given to the opposing party . . . if a lawyer or law firm intends to send information overseas," he said. "You could then go into court and obtain some sort of protective order [to prevent the offshoring]."

The committee decided not to recommend that verbiage because "there is uncertainty whether there are sufficient ethical rules in place that would require that...