This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Please consult a qualified attorney before making decisions regarding legal outsourcing.
When law firms in Florida consider hiring external legal support, especially from overseas, one question often comes up:
“What does the Florida Bar actually say about this?”
In 2008, the American Bar Association gave its green light through Formal Opinion 08-451. But at the state level, Florida addressed the topic even earlier. In Opinion 07-2, the Florida Bar clarified that legal outsourcing is permitted, as long as the attorney maintains oversight, protects confidentiality, and ensures quality.
Let’s break that down.
What Is Opinion 07-2?
Issued in 2007 by the Professional Ethics Committee of the Florida Bar, Opinion 07-2 responds to the question of whether attorneys may delegate legal or administrative tasks to nonlawyer assistants outside the firm, including independent contractors or overseas professionals.
The conclusion is clear: Yes, attorneys may do so, but they remain fully responsible for the work performed. That includes how it is supervised, reviewed and disclosed to the client when necessary.
This sets the foundation for ethical outsourcing in Florida. It does not ban it. It defines how to do it right.
The Core Conditions
1. Supervision and Accountability
The attorney must ensure that the work done by external support is directly supervised. This applies whether the assistant is located in Tampa, Bogotá or working from a WeWork in Mexico City.
Delegation is allowed. Abdication is not.
You can outsource execution. You cannot outsource judgment.
2. Confidentiality
The same standards of client confidentiality that apply in-house also apply when working with outside help. This includes executing confidentiality agreements and taking reasonable steps to ensure that sensitive information is protected.
The Florida Bar does not lower the bar for outsourcing. It demands that the same care be taken, regardless of geography.
3. Disclosure When Necessary
Attorneys should disclose to the client if the outsourcing would result in additional charges or if the client might reasonably expect to know who is performing the work. Transparency builds trust. The Bar agrees.
What Does This Mean for Firms Working with Latin American Talent?
It means that hiring admin support, legal assistants or paralegals in Latin America is entirely permissible under Florida Bar rules, as long as oversight, confidentiality and transparency are upheld.
What matters is not the location of the contractor, but the process behind the work. Florida’s opinion reinforces that ethics are tied to behavior, not borders.
How This Aligns with Our Model
At Resorsi, we work with firms that want to expand their support teams intelligently, without compromising standards. We screen talent based on ability, not resume fluff. Our process centers on real-world tasks, case simulations and direct performance signals.
Supervision is designed into the workflow from day one. Confidentiality agreements are not just boilerplate, they’re enforced. And transparency with clients is standard, not optional.
This is not staffing for convenience. It’s strategic support that respects the legal profession and meets the ethics it requires.
Final Thought
Florida has made its position clear. Legal outsourcing is allowed, but only when done with rigor and responsibility.
For firms that are growing and need leverage (not more overhead) this opens the door to build smarter teams with the right controls in place.
And that is exactly the kind of structure that separates noise from value.
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