Budgets of law firms – crucial and more frequent in the final weeks of a law suit

A recent item made the point that the burn rate tends to soar in the period just before trial. [www.mondaq.com/article/asp?articleid=31137&hotopic=1] If a law department insists on budgets from its litigation firms, Russell Barron of Foley & Lardner urges the responsible in-house lawyer to ask for more frequent budget updates during the final frantic march to the courthouse. All-nighters, precautionary research, dragooned staff, fatigue and stress all contribute to the concluding bubble of expense.