I increasingly believe that a sounder approach than reduction of the numbers of firms used is to increase the number so that the firm retained better matches the matter’s risk and complexity (See my post of Oct. 19, 2009: dozen arguments against convergence; Sept. 9, 2010: Sony Ericsson’s GC doubts the touted benefits; and Oct. 4, 2010: sourcing counts for more than pricing.).
The right tool for the task outperforms a few sledgehammers for everything. Aphorisms aside, here is the latest clutch of other posts related to convergence (See my post of Aug. 5, 2009: allows more collective evaluations; Oct. 24, 2009: savings claimed from convergence; May 26, 2009: concentration of spend measured four ways; Nov. 25, 2009: Levi Strauss and almost-complete convergence; Jan. 12, 2010: departments need to intervene more; Aug. 9, 2010: law firms bow out and cause convergence; and Aug. 17, 2010: number of firms or number of partners.).