InsideCounsel, Jan. 2008 at 50, provides some data from the most recent law department survey of Altman Weil. The survey reports that “51.8% of outside fees go to the company’s top two firms” (See my post of March 24, 2005 on concentration of spending; and Dec. 17, 2007 on concentration…
The concept of Pareto’s Law shows up everywhere (See my post of June 27, 2007 on the law and an illustration.). If you look at the bills of the law firm you use the most over a six-month period, and sort the time billed on your matters by associates, paralegals,…
Law departments have at their disposal many variations on the old standby of rate discounts (See my posts of Aug. 4, 2007 with a discount and a success-based arrangement; and Oct. 29, 2007 on expectations.). I’ve collected some ideas and associated posts. 1. Across-the-board discounts imposed on all law firms…
Readers of this blog have seen a few blog posts on this topic, where law departments haughtily insist that their firms give them top-shelf billing rates, the “best you give any client.” Last November, for the New York Law Journal, I pulled together my thoughts on MFNs, as they are…
You have narrowed the contenders for a piece of legal work. Each firm troops in a team to meet your staff and strut their stuff. Before that meeting, it is crucially important for the attendees from your law department to think about what they want to learn from the meeting.…
An article in LexPert, Vol. 9, Nov./Dec. 2007 at 61, claims that a “vast array of new positions is emerging.” In London there are “senior partners, junior partners, salaried partners [the US counterpart of non-equity partners], directors, counsel, professional support consultants, professional support lawyers, managing associates, junior associates and the…
The current general counsel of British Columbia Transmission Corp., John Irving, was previously the lead lawyer for CP Ships, Ltd., a company with legal needs in 88 countries. After Irving figured out in which of those countries CP Ships would need counsel, he “decided to limit the number of law…
Since some law firms care about the profitability of individual clients, law departments ought to pay attention to that possibility. Legal Week, Vol. 9, Dec. 6, 2007 at 3, states that this year Lovells, the top 10 London City law firm, “went through a process of rankings its major clients…
What would be the difference if a law firm were asked to submit a rolling budget on a sizeable matter at the end of each month? The budget would extend perhaps as far out as six months – longer than a typical budget covers – but this would be a…
A fundamental problem with any kind of organized selection of counsel – anything more disciplined than a senior lawyer picking up the phone and calling a known partner at a familiar firm – is that the process takes time. Say what you will, a competitive bid process adds time and…