Sri Lanka’s legal profession is set to venture into legal process outsourcing services for other countries which is expected to become a major foreign exchange earner for the country, reports The Nation.

Sri Lanka has skilled human resources at relatively cheaper cost, a robust infrastructure and a legal system based largely on principles of English law. This is an ideal location to promote as a major Legal Process Outsourcing (LPO) hub in the region.

According to John Wilson, Managing Partner of the legal firm John Wilson Partners, who was joined by the Bar Association of Sri Lanka in announcing this package, Sri Lanka would be supported by the European Union’s Chamber of Commerce based in Sri Lanka.

The President of the SL Bar Association, Shibly Aziz said that legal outsourcing would be a major boon to the local legal fraternity for outsourcing of legal services from other countries where employment costs are extremely high to Sri Lanka. Here the work can be done at a cheaper cost.

The development of the outsourcing industry was an important component of the government’s policy to increase export earnings and employment in the country, Aziz said.

He said, it will be an important value addition for young lawyers to get familiar with the commercial law of the UK and the US. In this respect, what stands out is the high legal framework Sri Lanka has inherited.