Representative Dillon was quoted as saying, ''There is a quality issue here and also a jobs issue. The licensure of teachers and health professionals is often not portable across state lines in this country, yet some legal work is being done abroad with no quality oversight.''
This proposed bill has raised much concern among the legal process outsourcing (LPO) sector in India as fears spike that the bill, though not yet passed, could lead to a trend throughout the states. According to Sanjay Kamlani, a co-CEO of LPO firm Pangea3, ''This is happening at a time when US law firms are increasingly looking at LPOs strategically, as long-term partners, to offer more value to their clients. A lot of legal work – from financial services, IT and entertainment sectors – is coming to India from New York, New Jersey, California, etc.''
In addition to the concern the bill draws to the LPO community, its phrasing also threatens to strip thousands of paralegals in the United States of the right to perform the same type of work. According to a US registered attorney, Russell A Smith, who is also CEO of the LPO firm SDD Global, the ''drafting, reviewing, and analyzing'' referred to in Dillon's proposal would be work limited to lawyers who are accredited by the Barr Association.
However, Smith doesn't seem to think the bill is likely to last, even if it is passed. ''Even if the bill passed,'' said Smith, ''It would be quickly overturned by the courts as an unlawful restraint of trade and interference with the constitutional right to contract freely. This bill will ban more US Jobs than Indian ones.''
