The American Bar Association has issued a new ethics opinion dealing with outsourcing lawyers as well as freelancing lawyers aka contract attorneys (not the agency temps). To read the full document, you can see it as either html or pdf at the ABA site. To read what the talking heads are telling you that ABA Ethics Opinion 08-451 means, check out:
The Long View
Criminal Lawyer Library Blog
Legal Ethics Forum
Bottom Line: As shocking as it may be, the American Bar Association is giving its okey-dokey to outsourcing legal services (read that, INDIA) as well as giving a big thumbs-up to contract attorneys, or freelance lawyers. As someone who has been a freelance attorney for many years, it's about time. This outsourcing thing, though: scary stuff - on so many levels. Stupid, really.