If you can segment work to be assigned to outside counsel, you are closer to alternative fee arrangements

One of the common steps to reduce the costs of outside counsel assumes that inside lawyers can segment matters into those that deserve high-priced talent, those that have more modest demands suitable for mid-tier firms, and those that bump along the bottom as commodity work for lower cost firms. If that threshing proves practical, it suggests that the legal department can push for alternatives to hourly billing, including unit costing, with some of the mid-range work and most of the lower-level work.

That being plausible, it further suggests that competitive bids and fixed fees for the simpler matters make sense. Matter segmentation, in other words, allows billing differentiation.