Penny-ante matters which are run-of-the-mill for low stakes — definitions

A recent survey gave law department respondents four choices to select from for their definition of “low stakes matter,” as summarized by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubble based on responses from hundreds of in-house counsel (Counsel to Counsel, March 2006 at 15).

“Limited exposure/risk to company” garnered 91 percent; “simple, predictable process,” had 83 percent, “high volume/recurring matter” came in at 60 percent, and “expertise widely available” was at 51 percent.

These highly-correlated definitions together mean “commodity work.” Companies face lots of these annoying crumbs, but many outside counsel can handle the cookie cutter.