2005 12
Tired of losing: Outsource your Rival, American Law Firms
Published by MartinVarsavsky.net in General with No Comments
I lived in the States for 18 years. During that time I completed my schooling at NYU and Columbia University and my first 10 years as an entrepreneur. Overall I loved living in NYC, this city has some of the best universities and most remarkable entrepreneurial opportunities in the world. Everything is there. Unfortunately everthing includes a serious impediment to business: expensive American law firms. Americans called Europe beaurocratic and that is true. But at least European beaurocracy is mostly free. American beaurocracy comes in the shape of law firms and it´s outrageously costly. Lawyers in America are as priviledges as members of the Communist Party of China: they are people who walk around charging $400 an hour to talk to each other while they make rules for all the rest of us to live by.
But wait, there´s hope for this abuse and it´s in India. Some American entrepreneurs have realized that the “knowledge” that American lawyers have can easily be replicated in India and there are now people in India who are receiving an American Legal Education. Imagine the education institutions now focus on turning out amazing software engineers coming up with a new training, American Law and graduating lawyers who can do most of the legal work that needs to be done supported by a few coordinators in America who yes, could bill $400 an hour but for very very few hours. And after that, how would you like to have Indian lawyers trained in American law working for you over the net at $10 an hour? Well, it´s coming. Soon one of the most important useless drains of cash for American businesses will stop… in India.
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Javier on June 15, 2005 ·
I’m european and yes it’s rigth we are a burocratic culture, specially the continental big four (German, France, Italy, Spain).
Also is true that our law firms are a cheaper than the anglo lawyers, but I created two companies here and I know that the procces isn’t easy(I must admit that working with E&Y LAW the things where easier) but in any case is a long procces and sometimes you never know when you are going to finish. And as I told I had the help of E&Y because I work for transnational company, but for the small companies or young entr the lawyers fees is a big problem specially because you never know when you will finish, and how much it will cost. So I think this is a fantastic idea. And as economist I can see that this is a big impulse to the economy because will help to people to create companies. The reason is that one of the major problems for create a companies is that people is scared about his responsability, or they think they will not be avalaible to manage all the things related to the goverment rules taxes, period of documentation, labour laws… and also will help a lot for the merge and acquistions of the small companies because actually it is really expensive in Europe do that. And when you visit a lawyer for keep his advice about a merge or and acquistion, you left his office thinking in other idea because the prices do the project impossible…
The other big problem of cost (in terms of laws) is the european obsession for the notary, but well the notaries are probably the only good monopoly