The new trend in the world of bankruptcy is to outsource case and/or document preparation to workers in far away countries. Ask yourself is that how you want your Utah bankruptcy case prepared?
Do you want your most personal financial information stored on computers located in Mexico, India, or China?
Right now there is a lot of economic incentive for attorneys to outsource the service of preparing the documents that are needed to file with the Bankruptcy Court. Outsourcing removes the biggest overhead cost of most law firms: employee wages. Outsourcing transforms paralegal costs from a fixed overhead item to a variable cost expense. Outsourcing means you need less office space, so you save on rent. Paralegals in India and Mexico do not receive overtime. Payroll tax burdens are eliminated with overseas outsourcing. It eliminates the need to file quarterly reports with the IRS. The burden of hiring and firing is eliminated.
For the record the Law Office of Douglas Barrett has never outsourced our paralegal staff. I doubt we ever will. Here is why I just wont do it:
1. I believe quality suffers. Workers in foreign countries can’t understand life in America specifically Utah (and to be fair we don’t fully understand their life either). This becomes a problem because when you don’t understand your client fully, how are you going to ask the client the right questions to fully explain their financial problems to the court? Paralegals from India or Mexico are probably fine folks, but they don’t get the local culture and they do not have the experience to explain and document an American client’s financial situation.
2. I doubt the cost savings are that great. It may cost less to outsource bankruptcy case preparation, but a knowledgeable paralegal can save money in other ways. By providing face-to-face interaction with our clients, they perform their job better and that leads to a clearer and better prepared document. They do their jobs more efficiently because they have a fuller understanding of the client’s background.
3. Frustrating communication problems. I believe that one attorney and one paralegal should be assigned to each client. You speak to the same team every time you call our office. You know your legal team and they know you. They know your kids names and your favorite football team and a million other details about your family. Some bankruptcy cases can last for up to 5.5 years. It’s an important relationship. Because we know you better we can serve you better. Do you think a worker from India or Mexico can match that?
4. We protect confidential client information. Bankruptcy attorneys gather a bunch of very personal information, including tax returns, paycheck stubs, bank account statements, retirement statements, etc. Do you want that information stored on some computer in Mexico or India?
I think when most people hire a Utah Bankruptcy Lawyer they want a local Utah Bankruptcy Lawyer and their local staff and they do not want their file outsourced and sent overseas.
Our Utah Bankruptcy documents are proudly made in the USA!