LexOutsource was founded in 2012 by Irshad Motala, to provide Canadian lawyers with access to freelance legal research, writing and analysis services on-demand. Today, LexOutsource includes a growing and dynamic community of legal researchers across the globe.

LexOutsource has helped hundreds of lawyers get answers to their most critical legal research questions, and has assisted them to draft thousands of legal documents, including briefs and pleadings.

LexOutsource serves the full breadth of the legal industry. We take pride in our ability to research and draft legal documents covering every area of law. Past clients have practiced in specialties as different as business law, criminal law, constitutional law, contracts, employment law, family law, intellectual property, and torts.

We have grown to become one of the few legal research companies able to provide full legal research and writing support to law firms in every common law province and territory in Canada. We are also able to offer limited support to lawyers based in Quebec.

The reality is that many renowned law firms have been using the services of outsourced legal service providers for decades.

In addition, in virtually every jurisdiction where the question has been considered, the relevant regulatory bodies have found that outsourcing legal services is ethical. For example, ABA Formal Opinion 08-451 states that “There is nothing unethical about a lawyer outsourcing legal and nonlegal services, provided the outsourcing lawyer renders legal services to the client with the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably necessary for the representation.”

In Canada, the Ethics Committee of the Law Society of British Columbia (opinion dated March 3, 2005) concluded that “Provided the lawyer can supervise a contractor in accordance with the requirements of Chapter 12 and can fulfill required obligations of confidentiality, it is proper for a lawyer to engage [an outsourced legal service provider] to do work that is the practice of law.”

CLICK HERE >>> to read the research memorandum which we have prepared regarding the nature of our services.

LexOutsource has selected South Africa as its primary location to render its services to the Canadian market. The following are a few of the primary reasons which motivated the decision to select South Africa.

Common Law Jurisdiction

South Africa, like Canada, has its foundations in the common law. This common legal tradition equips South African legal professionals with a deep understanding of the fundamental principles of Canadian law.

Fluency in English

Language can be a key barrier to outsourcing, especially when it comes to legal research, writing and analysis. While South Africa has 11 official languages, English is the predominant language used in legal education and litigation.

Knowledge of Canadian Law

South Africa’s Bill of Rights is modelled on the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. As a result, Canadian jurisprudence forms an integral part of legal research for South African lawyers. The Constitutional Court of South Africa has quoted from Canadian case-law on over 60 occasions to date, and the Supreme Court of Canada has done the same in respect of South Africa. As such, our staff have extensively used Canadian case-law in their practice, even before joining us.

Cost Savings

Legal professionals in South Africa make a fraction of the salary that a lawyer working in Canada would make, despite their comparable expertise. This gives you access to a much lower wage scale.

Legal education in South Africa is similar to Canada. A law degree (LLB) is obtained through 4 years of study after graduating from high school and encompasses a wide range of common law related subjects. Thereafter, law graduates generally complete 2 years of articles with a law firm.

Experience has shown that most legal matters involve general legal principles which can be understood by any law graduate with sound legal education and training. Indeed, major law firms and corporations in the United States and United Kingdom have been successfully outsourcing legal work to India for over two decades.

We also have a proven track record of providing effective legal research and writing to our clients. These include numerous high profile, dynamic and complex legal matters which traverse a number of areas of law. The testimonials on this site show that many of our clients believe that our legal research, writing and analysis skills are superior to any lawyer that they have dealt with previously.

In addition, our entire legal team has prior experience working with Canadian law. They are recruited from top international universities, and many have practised as legal professionals at some of the top law firms in the world. We also provide continuing legal education and training to our staff with respect to Canadian law and available tools to research Canadian case-law.

Finally, as an additional layer of protection, on many matters, oversight and quality control is provided by someone who has actually practiced law in Canada.

We usually take 3-5 working days to complete most projects. However, we also offer a “rush” service, with 24-hour turnaround time, for time-sensitive work.