Law firms that outsource support services in the UK and abroad should protect client confidentiality by carrying out due diligence on suppliers and inspecting the premises of providers to check security measures, according to guidance issued last week.


Guidelines from the Law Society's professional ethics unit (see Notices) recommended that providers should be made to sign confidentiality agreements with law firms, and that the suppliers should ensure they have the right to seek injunctions or damages against any of their staff who breach confidences.



Solicitors should investigate the reputation of suppliers and consider whether they will agree to indemnify the solicitor against any breach of confidence, the guidance suggests.


It adds that where particularly sensitive information is involved, law firms should discuss the outsourcing with clients, letting them know the agency to be used. However, for less sensitive information it will normally be enough to include the right to use external agencies for typing, photocopying and printing in the client's terms and conditions, the guidance says.


Steven Chernikeeff, head of operational services at City firm Allen & Overy, who led the outsourcing of its support functions to India, said it was 'essential to do thorough due diligence, because reputational damage is the worst of all. For our own outsourcing, we went out to the premises several times to check the physical security and make sure that confidential documents could not be printed off on the computers. We also ran due diligence checks on the support staff who are dedicated to just doing Allen & Overy work'.