A survey in 2008 of in-house counsel in Central and Eastern Europe, conducted by the Forbes Institute with Martindale-Hubble International, asked respondents to rank 13 reasons for “removing a law firm from a preferred provider list.” That is not the same, perhaps, as firing a law firm absolutely, but in…
A 2008 survey of in-house counsel in Central and Eastern Europe, conducted by the Forbes Institute with Martindale-Hubble International, has some data about the relatively low importance of interpersonal chemistry. “Personal relationship with lawyers/chemistry” ranked 10th out of 12 in terms of criteria for choosing external counsel. It ranked 7th…
The downside of hiring specialists to supplant outside counsel are several. When you add a lawyer skilled in an area of law you risk (1) that the specialist work might dry up, (2) the compensation paid will upset internal equity, and (3) turnover when the economy strengthens. Law firms are…
“Overall demand for legal services dropped sharply in the fourth quarter of 2008, causing a further decline in law firm productivity. Firms participating in Hildebrandt’s Peer Monitor® reported Q4 negative demand growth of -6.6 percent, compared to Q4 2007, and negative productivity growth of -10.4 percent compared to Q4 2007.”…
“Recent European Lawyer research has found that, on average, the proportion of legal work retained in-house has grown from 42 per cent to 61 per cent over the past five years, and the results of the survey suggest this figure will continue to rise.” The article, which is in European…
After a journalist, Amy Miller, called me to ask about Jeff Carr’s Litigation Value Challenge (See my post of May 13, 2009: process announced at SuperConference.) I wondered why the turnout was not greater among large firms. Several reasons occurred to me. It could be that the bigger firms (a)…
An article in the European Lawyer, April 2009 at 18, quotes Sandra Mulrain of Georgia-Pacific, now owned by Koch Industries. Referring to changes brought about by the bad economy, she explained a tougher attitude in legal department regarding retentions of outside counsel. “It’s no longer just a matter of need…
The same survey that stimulated my ruminations on the meaning of “foreign law firm” (See my post of June 26, 2009: the term “foreign law firm”.) offers more data on those firms. According to Met. Corp. Counsel, Vol. 17, June 2009 at 11 (Marcus Linden), based on a survey population…
Met. Corp. Counsel, Vol. 17, June 2009 at 11 (Marcus Linden) concludes that “lawyers are slow adopters of management technologies, with the greatest number of respondents still employing manual systems and paper invoices (40.8 percent).” The survey of 191 in-house senior legal attorneys on which Linden relies found that 36.1…
Asked to pick five techniques that a procurement group should advocate the legal group to follow, here are my choices. I am assuming a legal department of approximately 10 lawyers or more, which would likely mean a minimum of $5 million dollars spent on at least 30 law firms. Prepare…