According to InsideCounsel, Feb. 2007 at 50, “several years ago” the general counsel of Coachmen Industries, Richard Lavers – now the CEO, asked four primary law firms, “firms he had worked with for years, to bid on a package of commodity type matters.” Lavers selected two of the firms and…
I like the way in InsideCounsel, Feb. 2007 at 10, Charles James, Chevron’s general counsel, explains split-engagements. In some “mission-critical matters” it may be essential for a law department to hire the best lawyer money can buy. “But it’s not always necessary to take the full law firm package that…
Charles James, Chevron’s general counsel, disagrees with me, according to InsideCounsel, Feb. 2007 at 10. He places that focus – “scrutinize costs as closely as fees” – ahead of managing outside counsel staffing as well as bringing work inside. Possibly the order is random, but even so, disbursements are small…
Amy Campbell’s Web Log has comments from a Legal Marketing Association (LMA) panel held in November 2006. The in-house lawyers on the panel spoke about how they handle budget over-runs by their firms. The prevailing concept was dubbed by Eric Cohen of Terex Corporation “into the bank.” “We pay 50%…
In 2005, the law department of Caterpillar was chosen as one of five law departments selected as visionary thinkers by Corporate Counsel magazine. This year, in a reprise, Corp. Counsel, Vol. 13, Dec. 2006 at 89, describes the subsequent expansion of the department’s annual law-firm grading system. “The 1-to-5 rating…
From Amy Campbell’s Web Log comes a comment by Emily Dickinson, a lawyer with Hannaford Bros. Co.: “When I hire a new firm, I take them on store tours and show them our business.” What a fine idea, to help counsel – presumably on their dime – become more familiar…
According to Dan DiPietro of Citigroup’s Private Bank group, US law firms are on a road that has six levers that drive profitability. Hearing DiPietro’s presentation on this model, it occurred to me that as to their key law firms, inside lawyers can and should directly influence each of those…
Law departments will find their bill review process easier to slog through if the bills they receive from outside counsel have a similar format. This does not mean that each bill in its entirety must mirror some standard format, but that useful information with a common definition is available in…
The 2006 Law Firm Survey regarding E-Billing Vendors, conducted in the summer of 2006 by ALM Research, amassed 630 responses. One question asked the firm respondents to select any of eight items that they would classify as a problem or concern with one or more e-billing vendors. The results are…
It sounds shrewd to have partners leverage work to associates, and it makes sense for a law department to use a core team of a partner and a handful of associates. The logic of both policies falters, however, when associates who are trained and experienced in a company’s legal needs…