Clifford Chance has again hired a legal “consultant” from its Gurgaon-based captive legal process outsourcing (LPO) centre OSC Export Services as a lawyer into the main firm.

Clifford Chance has taken the unprecedented step of hiring two lawyers from its Gurgaon-based legal support centre as associates in the main law firm, reported The Lawyer magazine today.

Clifford Chance senior partner Stuart Popham has always exhibited infectious enthusiasm for India. Legally India talks to him about the perennial joke of liberalisation, offshoring, India’s legal future and nine months of best friendship with AZB & Partners.

Lawyers in Clifford Chance’s Gurgaon “knowledge centre” have earned 12,000 hours of work in the last financial year, according to the firm’s annual report which was published this week.

A Scottish lawyer has taken his government to Bangalore to convince Indian outsourcing companies to set up call centres in Scotland.

He hopes that a large draw will be the avoidance of protectionist measures such as those recently proposed by US President Barrack Obama.