India seemed like the best bet. With more than 500 law schools and about 200,000 law students graduating each year, it had no shortage of attorneys. What amazed Galbenski, however, was that thanks to the Web, lawyers in India had access to the same research tools and case summaries as any associate in the U.S. Sure, they didn't speak American English. "But they were highly motivated, highly intelligent, and extremely process-oriented," he says. "They were also eager to tackle the kinds of tasks that most new associates at law firms look down upon"--such as poring over and coding thousands of documents in advance of a trial. In other words, they were perfect for the kind of document-review work he had in mind.
After a return visit to India in August 2005, Galbenski signed a contract with two legal services companies: QuisLex, in Hyderabad, and Manthan Services, in Bangalore. Using their lawyers and paralegals, Galbenski figured he could cut his document-review rates to $50 an hour. He also outsourced the maintenance of the database used to store the contact information for his thousands of contractors. In all, he spent about 12 months and $250,000 readying his newly global company.
Convincing U.S.-based clients to take a chance on the new service hasn't been easy. In November, Galbenski lined up pilot programs with four clients (none of which are ready to publicize their use of offshore resources). To help get the word out, he launched a website (offshore-legal-services.com), which includes a cache of white papers and case studies to serve as a resource guide for companies interested in outsourcing. And in February, Galbenski will sponsor a legal outsourcing summit in India that will bring both resource providers and their potential clients together.
February will also mark another big change for Contract Counsel: its name. Though Galbenski has spent the past decade building the Contract Counsel brand, he thinks the name feels stale. A new name, Galbenski hopes, will help inject new energy into his company. For a while, the favorite was Offshore Legal Services. But Galbenski wound up taking a different route. One of his heroes is Thomas Edison; he even gives his top performing employee an "Eddie" award at the end of every year. Why not incorporate the concept of his hero's greatest invention--the light bulb--into the company's new name? He decided to rebrand his company Lumen Legal. "We're shining light on a new way to do business," he says.
Still, much at the company remains the same. The service is brand new, and only about 5% of its work is being handled overseas. There's a lot at stake and Galbenski admits that 2006 could be a make-or-break year. After launching the new brand, the next step will be trying to line up some $4 million in angel financing. Negotiations are already under way, and Galbenski plans to use the cash to invest in new full-time staff and search for new sources of legal talent; Israel looks promising, he says. He also expects the February conference in India to generate a lot more business. The changes, Galbenski admits, are as frightening as they are exciting. But in his mind, he had no choice. "It's always been about going big or going home," he says.
The experts weigh in
Too Much Too Soon
Galbenski is clearly a maverick bold enough to lead a whole new industry. But his new brand won't be able to survive many mistakes. By making the simultaneous switch from the Contract Counsel brand while moving offshore, Galbenski is taking on a big educational challenge. Clients want to know that they can trust their attorneys, so the company is going to have to figure out how to translate the message that cheap prices also mean high quality. There could be a disconnect there. Customers need to get the same quality of service they are used to--even if they are paying less.
It's All in the Training
We're using a similar business model--only instead of lawyers, we use offshore accountants to help process tax returns. On paper, the opportunities are obvious: lower labor costs and better turnaround times because of the difference in time zones. But it's something you can't just rush into. We started by taking accountants from India and bringing them to the U.S. for training. Galbenski is trying to develop an emerging market that doesn't exist yet; he needs to be patient and develop talented workers. There is no substitute for experience.
I Wouldn't Do It
There have been some disputes within the American Bar Association about whether document review and legal research constitutes the practice of law. We have decided that if we bill people out as lawyers, they need to be licensed in the state they are working in. There are plenty of phenomenal lawyers here in the U.S. that you don't have to gamble on. You can screen who is doing the work; you have access to where they went to law school, where they clerked. That's something you might not get from lawyers in India.
