LEGAL PROCESS OUTSOURCING IN

INDIA-AN INSIGHT INTO THE GROWING

INDUSTRY

ICFAI National Seminar on

‘Prospects and opportunities in
Knowledge Services’
9th July,2007,Sirifort Auditorium,
New Delhi

Karnika Seth, Managing Partner

SETH ASSOCIATES
ADVOCATES AND LEGAL
CONSULTANTS

© Seth Associates, 2007 All Rights Reserved

 Presentation Plan
 Introduction to the LPO business
 Scope of “Services” rendered
 Preference for destination-India
 Different Models of Outsourcing
 Potential of growth in the LPO Industry
 Important Indian Government Initiatives
 Identifying major Issues in dealing with foreign clients in
an LPO business
 Ensuring data protection-Case study-Mphasis BPO
Fraud
 Practical experience & suggestions
 What is Outsourcing?
Outsourcing is the contracting out of a company's non-
core, non-revenue producing activities to specialists.
It differs from contracting in that outsourcing is a strategic
management tool that involves the restructuring of an
organization around what it does best – its core
competencies.
Three common types of outsourcing are Information Technology (IT)
outsourcing ,legal process outsourcing (LPO) and Business Process
Outsourcing (BPO). BPO includes outsourcing related to accounting,
human resources, benefits, payroll, and finance functions and
activities. All these activities fall under broad category of Knowledge
process outsourcing (KPO)
 What ‘LPO’ means?
 LPO or Legal Process Outsourcing is a
kind of high value added BPO service
involving legal work that industry vendors
or in-house departments of organizations
outsource from off-shore areas where it is
costly to perform
 Services rendered may involve low skilled
quantitative tasks or high end qualitative
tasks
 Nature of Services
 High end
The Qualitative tasks include:
 Intellectual Property Rights
 Patent Search
 Patent Application Drafting
 IPR Portfolio Management
 TM and Copyright Registration
 Legal Research/Opinion work
 Document Review and Analysis
 Intelligence Services
 Contracting and Administration
 Low end
The Quantitative tasks include:
 Paralegal Services
 Legal Transcription
 Legal Memo Development
 Medical Transcription
 Document Management
 Corporate Secretarial Services
 Litigation Support.
 Legal Coding
 Data entry
 Paralegal services
 Image and Document coding
 Indexing and Tagging
 Legal transcription
 Archiving
 Deposition and Testimony
 summarization
 Document/Evidence Review
 Spheres of law
 Litigation  Real estate
 Arbitration  Taxation
 ADR  General business
 Banking laws
 Securities  Insurance
 IPR  Corporate
consultancy
 Mergers and acq
Major International clients –source
of work

The in-house legal departments of MNCs

Legal research firms
International law firms
Legal publishing companies
Independent attorneys

Work inflow is observed to be more from USA,

Australia, U.K , France ,Japan, China
 Preference for destination -India?
 Experienced Legal professionals
 Communication and education advantage-English language
 professionals skilled in use of IT
 Presence of IT Infrastructure and Government facilitated schemes
for ITES sector, better telecommunication initiatives, power and
transport facilities
 Exposure to foreign laws
 Foreign qualifications in legal stream
 Cost reduction
 Advantage of time zone
 Efficacy at work
 Staffing 24x7
 Supports regional assignments
 Preference for destination-India
 Laws Governing International Contracts
"Proper Law of the Contract"
 When the parties in the Contract make an express choice of law ,Indian
Courts have always recognized such choice of proper law
 Under Indian Law, parties are free to stipulate their terms of contract
and lay down the law by which the Contract is to be governed. Courts
in India have held that the intention of parties would decide the law of
which country would govern the Contract and which Court would have
jurisdiction. Sections 13, 15 and 44A of the Indian Civil Procedure
Code and Section 41 of the Indian Evidence Act, govern the
conclusiveness and enforcement of foreign judgments in India
 The parties may also choose a foreign venue for arbitration. A Foreign
arbitral award would be recognized in India if the country of venue has
signed either the New York or Geneva conventions and has been
notified as having reciprocal relations with India in the matter of
enforcement of foreign awards. A foreign arbitral award would generally
be more easily enforced in India than a foreign court judgment.
Preference for destination-India
 India has ratified the World Trade
Organization (WTO) Agreement, which
came into force on January 1st 1995 and
has also become a party to the Agreement
on Trade Related Intellectual Property
Rights. It has made several amendments
to its laws concerning Intellectual Property
to suit the international standards
 Models of International IT-Enabled
Outsourcing

 Out-tasking model: export a task and, upon

completion, import it for use in home country
 7/24 model: maintain a continuous work
schedule by having teams in various time zones
 Foreign local subsidiary model: outsource
tasks in support of operations in that country
 Global model: establish data and service
center overseas to support global operations
 Different Categories of LPO
Players
 BPO/ITES Players Providing LPO Services e.g Office
tiger,Pangea3
 Law Firms Providing LPO Services e.g Seth Associates,
J sagar Associates,, Kocchar & Co
 Third Party Units (Single-Focus LPO Excluding Patents
Services) e.g Lexadigm ,Mindcrest
 Third Party Units (Single-Focus Patents Services)- e.g
Evalueserve
 KPO Players Providing LPO Services e.g Evalueserve,
Integreon
 Captives of Law Firms lex sphere, Atlas legal research
 Captives of Corporate Legal Departments e.g GE,
Dupont
Survey Reports: predicting future of
LPO business in India

 According to a study by the United States-based

Forester Research, the current annual value
(2004-05) of legal outsourcing which is worth
$80 million can rise up to $4 billion and can fetch
79,000 jobs in India by 2015.
 The National Association of Software and
Service Companies -- Nasscom -- also projected
that legal processing outsourcing (LPO)
providers in India will soon rise to $3-4 billion
industry.
 Potential of growth
 ValueNotes, a Pune based research firm released a
survey report “Offshoring Legal Services to India”
claiming Legal Process Outsourcing is expected to be a
$640 million by end of 2010 as against $146 now
 Number of people employed in this sector will go up to
32, 000 from 7, 500 now, in next three years
 The frontrunners are leading due to their strong
capabilities, onshore offshore presence, growth
strategies, and the strength of their brand in the global
LPO market
 Rising demand, vendor maturity and capability to offer
higher value services has led to the 50% growth in this
sector in 2005-06
 Important Indian Government
Initiatives
 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) for 100 percent of the equity in BPO
companies
-options to foreign companies to engage independent service
provider, branch office, set up JV or wholly owned subsidiary,
acquire exiting company
 Foreign Investment Regulations
Software development and BPO services is now under the
automatic route and no foreign investment approvals are required to
set up a wholly owned subsidiary; only certain filings need to be
made after receipt and issue of share capital. However, acquisition
of shares in an existing Indian company may still require a prior
foreign investment approval.
 Most foreign corporations set up their subsidiaries as private limited
companies with liability limited by share capital.
 Duty-free imports of capital goods (under the Export Promotion of
Capital Goods scheme)
 Important Indian Government
Initiatives
 100% Income tax exemption for export of services:

according to CBDT, the exemption would embrace the

following (few) services:

• Back-office Operations
• Content Development or Animation
• Engineering & Design services
• Human Resource Services
• Insurance Claim Processing
• Legal Databases
 Important Indian Government
Initiatives
 Promotions of STPs which provide ready-to-plug IT and telecom
infrastructure

 Indian tax laws have recently included provisions relating to transfer pricing,
requiring pricing of transactions between associated enterprises to be at
arms length
 allows repatriation of profits, calculated in accordance with approved
accounting rules.

 National Venture Fund for the Software and IT Industry with a corpus of Rs.
100 crore
 Government Incentives in
infrastructure segment

 The government has been continuously

improving infrastructure with better roads,
setting up technology parks, opening up
telecom for enhanced connectivity,
providing uninterrupted power to augment
growth.
 Tax Incentives-Infrastructure sector
 The tax incentives offered to the investors by the Government of India
are a boon for firms involved in IT outsourcing to India. The incentives
that facilitate economic growth and development are:
 1. Infrastructure:
 A 10 years tax holiday to ventures engaged in developing and / or
maintaining and operating an infrastructure facility.
 2. Power:
 10 years tax holiday to undertakings, which generate and / or distribute
power.
 3. Telecom:
 5 years tax holiday for companies providing telecom services including
Internet services and broadband services. Also 30 % deduction from
profits for the next 5 years in any 10 continuous years out of first 10
years is also offered.
 4. Industrial Parks and Special Economic Zones
 10 years tax holiday is applicable to ventures that develop and /or
operate or maintain in notified IT parks and special economic zones.
 Tax Incentives
 5. Other Industries:
 5-year tax holiday is available for new industrial units to
be set up in backward states and districts.
 6. Incentives for Exports:
 No Tax is deducted on exporters profits for unit set up on
EPZs, STPs, EHTPs, FTZ and SEZs.
 7. Other Incentives:
 Tax concessions are allowed for FTI and a weighted
deduction of 150% for scientific research and
development expenditure have been offered. 10 years
tax holiday is available for R&D companies engaged in
scientific and industrial research.
 Government Incentives in
SEZ
 In India units are allowed to be set up in SEZ for rendering of services as well. The units in the
zone are required to be a net foreign exchange earner.

 The units in SEZ set up during the financial year 2005 will get the following exemptions:
 100% exemption of profits and gains from business for the first 5 years
 50% exemption of profits and gains from business for the next first 5 years
 50% exemption to the extent that such amount is reinvested in the SEZ Special Reserve
Account.
 Losses falling under the heads “Profits and gains from Business or profession” and “ Income
from Capital Gains” can be carried forward/ set off as long as such loss is related to the
business of the SEZ unit
 Exemption from Central sales tax on inter-state sale or purchase of goods

 Facility to retain 100% exchange earnings in EEFC account. ( exchange earners foreign currency
account)
Exemption from Service tax
 Export proceeds to be realized within 12 months

 SEZ units may import or procure from the domestic sources, duty free, all their requirements of
capital goods, raw materials, consumables, spares, packing materials, office equipment, DG sets
etc. for implementation of their project in the Zone without any licence or specific approval.
The Key issues-dealing with International
clients in LPO business

es e n ce
a n iz ation
M a rk e t pr y o u r org
 You
r
in t ro duce
ow y ou p l ace r e n ces
 H e ms in al d i f f e
s y s t u lt u r
IT & standing c
er
 Und ligence i li ty,
e d i d i b
 Du in g c re
E s t abli s h
o f v a lues

r s e m ent n is su es
e o
endo t experienc ata protecti
bi d
Exhi ssing IPR & gement
re ga
Add terms of en power
r n
 Clea tence & Ma lity Control
C o m pe & Q ua
 t n ess e nts
r o m p g e m
P e n t a rran
m
 Pay
 Introduce LPO Discussing Understanding Scrutiny Background
Approaching
work Differences in Check
possibilities culture

Steps in Dealing with an International Client

IPR & Data
Payment Services & Competence Agreement protection Establishing
Quality issues Credibility
The Six Fundamental ‘Value ‘ Parameters

Global leader more than 5 decades of

Parentage customer loyalty & service

Continuous onsite and global support to

Presence handhold and troubleshoot immediately

Professionally qualified, hands-on industry

experience, specific domain expertise &
People proven delivery capabilities
Most user friendly, futuristic design, easy
scalability, zero vendor dependence,
Product technology backing

Continuous commitment, on-time delivery,

Professional reliability, & flexibility

Promise Guaranteed success

 LPO Industry ‘s prime
challenges:
 High attrition rates
 Unpredictability in regular flow of work
 High cost of training and infrastructure
investment
 Ensuring information security and confidentiality
especially under varying privacy laws
 Abdication of responsibility
 Risk management
 Quality assurances
Quality related accreditations
International Standards Organization (ISO) 9000
series
•Six Sigma
•CMMi Model (Capability Maturity Model)
•SEI-CMM Model
•People Capability Maturity Model (People-
CMM)
•e Services Capability Model (eSCM)
 Approaching a client
LPO Literature References
Past Experience
of
The firm

Website Advertisement

Giving/hosting Seminars
Printed/Online directory

Media
/press conferences
Experience of key Publications
personnel
 Agenda for discussion with a
foreign client
Exchange of Goals Understanding Relationship Agreement Commitment
Earliest contacts A thorough An An To avoid
should include a understanding understanding agreement unverified
detailed exchange of the client’s of how recording assumptions
aimed at business different terms of and to
achieving long objectives in business engagement, address
term goals the context of practices, issues-IPR, issues when
political, customs and Data they arise.
economic and etiquette can protection,
social systems affect the tax issues
in the local relationship
jurisdiction between the
firm and its
foreign client
 Working out detailed strategies & plans

 Appreciate Client’s goals

 Tune your Business objectives and strategy
 Risk Implications of the client’s position in the home
market
 Domestic Market place –Safeguarding LPO Reputation
in the local jurisdiction –confidentiality, security concerns
 Agree on policies and standards for assignment
management and client service
 Collect feedback on client satisfaction
 Understanding common cross border
differences

 Professional precedence and deference

 Communications
 Holidays
Adjusting to inevitable time gaps
Ready for Scrutiny ?
TEAM

INFRASTRUCTURE

CAPABILITY

RELIABILITY

SKILLS

RELEVANT APPLICABLE
LAW
What is indispensable to a Foreign
Client?
 A trustworthy & value adding partner
- that ensures Quality & service
 Reliability
-that ensures success
 Values
- that goes beyond words
 Experience
- that holds Client in good stead to make right
decisions
 What Clients look for?
 Expertise
- that provide accuracy.
 Infrastructure
- that can ably support & value add to Customer
 Quality
- that assures you error-free and timely project
delivery
 Support
- that ensures success
 Establishing credibility

v ious t asks
Pre

s k ill ed Team
Fully

rastruc ture
on g inf
Str

m th e client
re c ia ti on fro
App

lete d Task
Comp
 Background Check on a New
Client
 Conduct due diligence incase of new client .
 Website check
 Personality analysis over phone discussions
 Verify the identity of the company with the corresponding
Country’s embassy/government/country records
 Confirm that the signatory is authorized to sign on behalf
of the company
 Verify that the company is legal and doing real business
 Collate detailed Information
Confirm the Client’s Identity

If the official name of the If the signatory signing on

company
exists in the corporate
records of the state or region
in which the contract needs
to be enforceable.
behalf of a legitimate company,
is listed as an authorized signatory
of that company.

Firms must maintain procedures and obtain

satisfactory evidence of identity for all new clients.
 Due diligence techniques

 Check The Client's Background

 find some history about the company in the public
corporate records
 consultants who specialize in checking out
company backgrounds
 credit reporting companies (like Equifax)
 corporate credit and information bureaus (like
Dunn & Bradstreet)
 consolidated information sources (like knowx.com)

Identity procedures should not be an end in themselves.

 CLIENT IDENTITY
VERIFICATION
Identity Address
Individual Birth Certificate Record of home visit
Photo driving license Council tax / rent demand
Passport Utility bill
Photo card (Corgi / Inland revenue document
CIS)
Government identity Entry on electoral role
card
Residence permit State benefit entitlement
Firearms certificate Paper driving license
 CLIENT IDENTITY
VERIFICATION
Persons Identity evidence
Business or entity Proprietor Utility bill
Bank registration certificate
signatories
Inland revenue document

Bank details
Tax returns
Business records
Professional registrations

Personal visit
 Legal Issues
1 Issues relating to the ownership of intellectual
property
2 Liability for failures, and limitation of liability
3 The right of termination-exit route
4 Prohibition on hiring the other’s employees
5 Data Protection, confidentiality-contractually
enforceable ,Art 21 of constitution, common law,
fiduciary duty, breach of trust-criminal offence –
both IPC and IT Act
 Types of security related risks
 Three types of security related risks:
 􀀀 Theft of Data and Information
 􀀀 Natural Disasters
 􀀀 External Acts like viruses
 The National Association of Software Services
Companies or Nasscom is working with the government
to ensure that India's data privacy legislation is more in
line with the U.S. It also intends to have the security
practices of all its 860 members audited by international
accounting firms. A cyber crime unit, which NASSCOM
initiated in Bombay's police department where officers
were trained to investigate data theft, is planned in nine
other cities.
 Create strong confidentiality
protection regimes
 Dedicated teams to maintain strict security, info -
access and staffing rules
 Secure transmission and storage of information
 Processes to be streamlined –’only if need to
know’ principle be adopted
 NDA, adopt foreign data protection principles
 IP of projects belongs to client
 Client –attorney priviledge
 Quality assurance accrediation
 Data Protection-UK
 The Data Protection Act 1998 came into force on 1
March 2000
 Under the Data Protection Act, anyone processing
personal information must comply with eight
principles of good information handling.
 fairly and lawfully processed;
 processed for limited purposes;
 adequate, relevant and not excessive;
 accurate and up to date;
 not kept longer than necessary;
 processed in accordance with the individual's rights;
 secure;
 not transferred to countries outside the European
Economic area, unless there is adequate protection.
Legal Provisions dealing with data
protection under the IT Act,2000

 IT Act, 2000 delineates both civil and

criminal liabilities for -
 “cyber contraventions”[S.43(a) to (h)] and
 “cyber offences”[Ss.65-74]
Legal Provisions dealing with data
protection under the IT Act,2000
 Sec 2(1)(o) of IT Act 2000 defines
“Data”-
 A representation of information, knowledge,
facts, concepts or instructions which are
being prepared or have been prepared in a
formalized manner, and is intended to be
processed, is being processed or has been
processed in a computer system or
computer network, and may be in any form
or stored internally in the memory of the
computer;
Legal Provisions dealing with
data protection under the IT
Act,2000
 Computer database[ S.43 Exp (ii)-
 A representation of information,
knowledge, facts, concepts or
instructions in text, image, audio,
video that are being prepared or have
been prepared in a formalized manner
or have been produced by a
computer, computer system or
computer network and are intended
for use in a computer, computer
system or computer network.
 Cyber Contraventions
 Deals primarily in with unauthorized
access to computer, computer system or
computer network.
 May result in civil prosecution
 Liable to pay for damages by way of
compensation not exceeding one crore
rupees to the person so affected.
 Cyber Offences
 Deals with computer, computer system, or
computer network related “serious”
offences such as hacking (Section 66).
 May result in criminal prosecution
 IT Act, 2000 has identified “offences”
which are punishable with imprisonment or
with fine or both.
 Computer Related Crimes under IPC
and Special Laws
Sending threatening messages by email Sec 503 IPC

Sending defamatory messages by email Sec 499, 500 IPC

Forgery of electronic records Sec 463, 470, 471 IPC

Bogus websites, cyber frauds Sec 420 IPC

Email spoofing Sec 416, 417, 463 IPC

Online sale of Drugs NDPS Act

Web-Jacking Sec. 383 IPC

Online sale of Arms Arms Act

50
 Case Study- BPO Data Theft
 The recently reported case of a Bank
Fraud in Pune in which some ex
employees of  BPO arm of MPhasis Ltd
MsourcE, defrauded US Customers of Citi
Bank to the tune of RS 1.5 crores has
raised concerns of many kinds including
the role of "Data Protection".
 Case Study (contd.)
 The crime was obviously committed using "Unauthorized Access" to
the "Electronic Account Space" of the customers. It is therefore
firmly within the domain of "Cyber Crimes".
 ITA-2000 is versatile enough to accommodate the aspects of crime
not covered by ITA-2000 but covered by other statutes since any
IPC offence committed with the use of "Electronic Documents" can
be considered as a crime with the use of a "Written Documents".
"Cheating", "Conspiracy", "Breach of Trust" etc are therefore
applicable in the above case in addition to section in ITA-2000.
 Under ITA-2000 the offence is recognized both under Section 66
and Section 43. Accordingly, the persons involved are liable for
imprisonment and fine as well as a liability to pay damage to the
victims to the maximum extent of Rs 1 crore per victim for which the
"Adjudication Process" can be invoked.
 Case Study (contd.)
 The BPO is liable for lack of security that enabled the commission of
the fraud as well as because of the vicarious responsibility for the ex-
employee's involvement. The process of getting the PIN number was
during the tenure of the persons as "Employees" and hence the
organization is responsible for the crime.
 Some of the persons who have assisted others in the commission of
the crime even though they may not be directly involved as
beneficiaries will also be liable under Section 43 of ITA-2000.
 Under Section 79 and Section 85 of ITA-2000, vicarious responsibilities
are indicated both for the BPO and the Bank on the grounds of "Lack of
Due Diligence".
 At the same time, if the crime is investigated in India under ITA-2000,
then the fact that the Bank was not using digital signatures for
authenticating the customer instructions is a matter which would
amount to gross negligence on the part of the Bank. (However, in this
particular case since the victims appear to be US Citizens and the Bank
itself is US based, the crime may come under the jurisdiction of the US
courts and not Indian Courts).
 The Outsourcing cycle:

 Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)

 Agreement Negotiations
 Outsourcing Agreement & engagement letter
 Service Commencement

 Service Improvement

 Renewal or termination
 Points to be addressed in the
engagement letter
 Availability and access
 Responsiveness.
 Working language(s)
 Status reports.
 Delegation of legal work
 Communications with the foreign client’s home office and
local subsidiaries.
 Communications with third parties.
 Conflict and unfair competition issues
 Staff sustitution
 Billing
 Expenses and disbursements.
 Payment.
 Applicable law & settlement of disputes
 IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS-Service Level
Agreement
Quality
- The client should be able to get out of the contract if he finds the quality
below par.
 Quantity
- volume of work to be done in an hour/day/week/month as per agreed.
 Confidentiality
- assurance that all the information and data would be not be disclosed
to any third party.
 Pay Cycle
- how to remit professional fees
 Price Increases
- dependence of the client-ensure that for large, long-term projects,
once the vendor’s personnel have acquired experience on the client
projects, the vendor does not result in unreasonable price increases or
replacement of key employees
 Billing
 How often will fees be billed? 
 How much detail does the client require on
the invoice? 
 Billing practices vary considerably.  A foreign
client who is used to itemized, detailed hourly
billing might take exception to the summary
form of invoice that is customary for the firm’s
local clients.
 Billing rates
 Depending upon the type of services being delivered, the
billing charges range from US$ 10 to 150. Mainly in the
industry, three kinds of standards are prevalent in terms
of charging the clients.
 One, the flat rate fee – the clients have to pay the fixed
amount of charges for the entire month’s working.
Second, the packaged fee – wherein the clients pay for
buying the entire package of services like patents prior
art search would cost them around US$ 900 for 12
hours. Third, on hourly basis. High-end jobs would cost
more than even US$ 100. The value for money has to be
given by keeping prices relatively reasonable.
 Billing rates
 The billing charges are as follows:
Area Amount (USD per hour)
Telemarketing 5-12
Transaction Processing 10-14
Tech Support (inbound) 11-12
Printing Support Services 15-25
Basic Back Office 15-25
F&A 15-35
Document Management
Services 30-50
Research & Analysis 40-90
Patent Drafting &
Legal Research 150
 Per-transaction price
A norm in the US and the concept is fast gaining popularity among top
Indian firms

PTP for the uninitiated is a form of pricing where a firm company is paid
only on the basis of completed transactions.

The client pays a portion of the value that he gains from outsourcing
rather than a fixed cost based on the number of seats or hours of effort
that a service provider uses to deliver the solution. This ensures that the
client pays only for the benefits that he derives and not for inefficiencies of
the service provider.

Transaction-based pricing requires high degree of domain specialization

especially for high end work – a firms credibility and proven track record
that today is not widespread.
 Expenses and disbursements.
The range of expenses and disbursements that are
accepted as reimbursable can vary considerably from
country to country. 
What is customary in one jurisdiction might be viewed
as bordering on dishonesty in another?

Unless reimbursement of expenses and

disbursements is discussed and agreed at the start,
the firm should expect the foreign client to challenge
some of these charges. 
 Payments provisions
 Amounts to be paid-(i) Lump sum contract;
(ii) Time based contracts;
(iii) Success fee based contract;
(iv) Percentage contract;
(v) Indefinite delivery contract.

 Schedule of payments-

 Payment procedures, shall be indicated in the draft contract and agreed upon during
negotiations.

 Payments may be made at regular intervals (as under time-based contracts) or for
agreed outputs (as under lump sum contracts).

 Payments for advances if any should normally be backed by Bank Guarantee. The limit
for advance payment will be as prescribed by GFR. Normally, it should not exceed 10%
of the cost of the contract.

 Payments shall be made promptly in accordance with the contract provisions.

 Three words of Caution-
Payment 
It may be the custom in the foreign client’s country to age
Customs

professional services invoices for up to 90 to 120 days.  A demand for

payment within 30 days might be viewed as distrusting and insulting
to the client’s integrity. 

Law firms must also be very careful about attempting to charge

Interest

interest on accounts that are more than 30 days old.  In some

countries, interest payments, especially to providers of trusted
professional services, are considered highly improper or even
immoral. 
Litigation to collect a fee is considered to be a breach of professional
Litigation

ethics in some countries. Even though these professional rules might

not apply to a law firm outside the client’s home jurisdiction, even the
suggestion of possible legal action to collect a fee could be viewed as
highly offensive by the client, especially if the client feels that there
are unresolved service issues.
 Key Performance Indicators
(KPIs)
 Average Data Value (Sales and Reservations Only)
 Customer Satisfaction
 Service Level
 Abandoned Percent of Data
 Cost Per Data
 Errors and Rework
 Forecast Work-load to Actual
 Scheduled Staff to Actual
 Adherence to Schedule
 Average Handling Time
 Reviewing strategies for increasing performance levels
 Dealing with a complaint

 If the complaint is in writing, acknowledge it immediately

 Tell your client who will be dealing with the complaint, and what
the likely timescale is for dealing with it
 Keep your client informed of the complaint’s progress if it is
unlikely to be resolved quickly
 Note what the client expects from the complaints process, and
whether those expectations are reasonable
 If your client asks for a meeting, try to arrange one as soon as
possible
 Open a complaint file, and keep a record of what steps you take
towards resolving the complaint
 Finally, remember that speedy resolution of complaints helps to
maintain client goodwill, and is frequently the most cost-effective
solution for you.
 Thank You!

SETH ASSOCIATES
ADVOCATES AND LEGAL CONSULTANTS
New Delhi Law Office: C-1/16, Daryaganj, New Delhi-110002, India
Tel:+91 (11) 55352272, +91 9868119137
Corporate Law Office: B-10, Sector 40, NOIDA-201301, N.C.R ,India
Tel: +91 (120) 4352846, +91 9810155766
Fax: +91 (120) 4331304
E-mail: mail@sethassociates.com

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