If an inside lawyer who is responsible for a law firm on a matter manages it well, there should be no write-off on any invoice. The firm will have staffed the work appropriately, timekeepers will have toiled efficiently and billed correctly, the budget (real or could-have-been) will have sufficed, and…
I am surprised that the fifth most common obligation imposed on law firms, according to the most recent Serengeti survey, is “periodic written matter updates.” It takes time for firms to prepare write-ups, even if the style is formalized, and that time costs money. Maybe in all my consulting I…
One week after this blog unveiled its first poll (See my post of Feb. 26, 2009: first blog poll.), I thank each of the dozen or so readers (as of yesterday) who took a moment or two to answer. The question was “If you reviewed bills submitted by law firms…
In-house attorneys who advocate discounts from standard billing rates assume law firms still maintain standard billing rates. Like the astronomical room rates that used to be common on the doors of hotel rooms, “standard rates” may be fading into myth. Few of them are charged. The ACC Docket, Vol. 27,…
Approximately forty of the Fortune 500 law departments provided data abut their technology use and Corp. Counsel, Vol. 16, March 2009 at 72, summarized some of the results. One question asked, “What percentage of outside counsel does your department use e-billing with?” The survey found an average of 58.5 percent.…
Corp. Counsel, Vol. 16, March 2009 at 17, recounts that Jeff Carr, the General Counsel of FMC Technologies “sent a letter to FMC’s law firms in which he asked them to cut their bills by 10 percent on matters less than half done, and by 5 percent on matters more…
A partner at Ogilvy Renault, Brian Daley, succinctly contrasts the perspectives on litigation of law departments and law firms. Writing in the ACC Docket, Vol. 27, Jan./Feb. 2009 after page 48, Daley observes that “When approaching litigation, outside counsel focus on legal issues, litigation strategy, and winning. At the same…
Although frustratingly difficult to measure or proved, these tell-tale signs of settled contentment can alert you to the entitlement expectations – and diminished levels of service – of complacent law firms. I have not tried to list them in order of their frequency or their deleterious effect. The best associates…
… enthused the GC, as he was describing his primary law firm to a third-party interviewer conducting a client satisfaction assessment for the law firm. But, what does a law firm have to do to get this kind response? Is it the people? Quality of the work? Responsiveness? Reasonable billing…
… pleaded the GC, as he shared the weight of his responsibility for building a strong law department during a chat with the relationship partner from one of his primary law firms who had achieved the level of Trusted Advisor. But, is this right? How much input can and should…