“The best way to deal with RFP’s is to avoid them altogether, and the stronger and deeper the relationship with a client, the better chance a firm has of doing just that. Redwood Analytics has conducted research that indicates, not surprisingly, that clients with more than one senior partner who are actively engaged with a client are much less likely to stop working with that firm.” The quote comes from Bo Yancey, Director of Professional Services at Redwood Analytics, on March 9, 2009.
An RFP process does not necessarily mean dissatisfaction with the incumbent law firms. RFPs test the market, gather alternative ways to handle the work, and keep everyone on their toes (See my post of Dec.16, 2005: complacency among entrenched firms; and March 16, 2009: survey data from Altman Weil on RFPs, success rates and costs.).