LexisNexis says its Verdict & Settlement Analyzer provides information about outcomes of previous similar cases. As described in Legal Tech. News, Oct. 2010 at 17, the software matches the characteristics of a case input to it against its database and lays out key comparisons: “how similar cases have been resolved,…
A researcher wrote in 1996 that “Of the 40,000 corporations in Massachusetts with 15 or more employees, less than 1,000 (about 2%) have in-house counsel” (See my post of May 23, 2007 #1: data from Ron Fox.). Working with my norm of 2.5 lawyers on average per department, that would…
The global benchmark survey of General Counsel Metrics, LLC (well, this blogger, really) burst upon the scene this year and has amassed more than 700 participants. The law department benchmark survey conducted by ALM increased its participation rate from about 65 last year to 114 this year. Then, yesterday, a…
“There are 30,000 companies in the United States that have at least 100 employees,” it says in Intellectual Prop., Fall 2010 at 48. That might be another clue as to how many law departments exist in the country, although presumably a smaller number than 30,000. The median number of US…
Another piece of the puzzle came my way, courtesy of Iberian Lawyer, July/Aug. 2010 at 23. Ramon Mullerat, the former President of the Council of Bars and Law Societies of the European Union (CCBE), writes that “there are an estimated 70,000 transnational corporations with some 700,000 subsidiaries.” If the adjective…
As a contribution to the ongoing discussion about the scope of what paralegals can do in law departments and therefore the optimal ratios of lawyers to paralegals, I assembled some data from my global benchmarking survey. My most recent online column for InsideCounsel provides that data and discusses it. Click…
Benchmark metrics give directional guidance for where you should pay attention and perhaps take action. They highlight your relative strengths and weaknesses in certain quantifiable areas. Some people, however, maintain that mere presentation of the law department’s numbers, let alone benchmark comparisons or decisions, bring benefits. For example, some believe…
You still have time to learn from the most comprehensive benchmark study ever done, and at no cost. If you would like to see a mini-version of the report, write me from your corporate address. Take part in the survey and enter your three staff and two spending numbers from…
My friend and colleague, Bruce Heintz, who helps law firms serve their corporate clients better, teamed up with me to describe ways that firms can use benchmarks from surveys of their clients. Our article appeared in the National Law Journal a week or two ago. If you would like to…
During the coming years, as benchmark surveys and their methodology improve, we will see a shift toward metrics that pertain to specific practice areas or industries (See my post of Feb. 8, 2010: industry-specific measures; and of Feb. 25, 2008: practice area benchmarks with 24 references.). Recent examples from this…