Out-source. In southeast
Michigan, the phrase itself has become, in some
households, as offensive as swearing at the dinner
table. But Canton residents Tariq Akbar and Tariq
Hafeez are working to change the image of the
word, as they themselves open up doors to the
next big thing in outsourcing: The legal profession.
Akbar
and Hafeez, partners in the firm they've named
LegalEase Solutions, have been for the last year
providing offshore legal support services to attorneys
in 11 different states.
"Outsourcing
has been in the United States for more than 20
years, and recently it's become like a bad word,"
Akbar said. "But there's a new breed of out-sourcing
and it's tapping the intellectual capital of the
world."
He
added that most people associate outsourcing with
job loss - an American factory worker loses his
job because his employer opens up shop overseas
and replaces him with a low-wage worker. But Akbar
said in this case, out-sourcing is really about
job creation in a global economy. The duo has
employed five attorneys in the United States,
as well as eight attorneys in India.
The
services provided by LegalEase attorneys are typical
of those that a new lawyer, right out of law school,
would provide, according to Akbar. They perform
support functions such as legal research and writing,
preparation of pleadings, patent services, and
document review, and they do it at a reduced cost
because attorney fees in India are much lower
than in the United States.
"That's
what legal out-sourcing is all about," Akbar
said. "We are viable because we can get some
of the grunt work done very affordably."
It
was Hafeez, an attorney who had been employed
for the State Attorney General's office, who first
came up with the idea to outsource legal work.
However, because he was born and raised in Michigan,
he had no contacts in India. But Akbar, who is
related to him by marriage, did.Akbar, who was
at the time employed as a business consultant
by Deloitte and Touche, moved to the U.S. just
six years ago, and his family has strong connections
in the legal profession back in India.
"I
thought of him right away and we began talking
about it," Hafeez said.
It
was a leap of faith leaving their full-time jobs
to devote all their time to the new company. Akbar,
whose first child was due to be born any day now,
and Hafeez, a father of two small children, said
because they are the breadwinners in their families,
it was definitely unnerving to leave their former
jobs. They found a few investors who believe in
the idea.
"But
I believe this will sustain us, and it will happen
very soon," Hafeez said.
The
business was one of only five in the world just
a year ago, according to Akbar, but now is one
of 14.
"We
grew 100 percent last month," he said.
Even
though both partners began full-time work for
LegalEase just this June, they believe that by
December the company will begin turning a profit.
No
matter how much Akbar and Hafeez believe in the
fledgling company, they still had to look at how
they would be perceived, due to the negative connotations
of outsourcing. But their concerns were calmed
a bit when they hired a salesman to increase their
client base, and he put it this way: "Are
you serious? We're talking about lawyers here.
I don't think anyone is really upset about lawyers
losing their jobs."
The
bottom line is, according to Akbar, some one million
attorneys in the U.S. last year earned about $7
billion.
"That's
just a lot of money," he said. "People
have to think really hard before they see a lawyer
because it's so expensive. And I know that one
of our clients right here in Michigan does pass
along his savings to his clients. I do think that
companies like ours will provide a benefit to
the common man."
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