Pricing information shared about law firms by 22 UK government legal departments

A group of 22 legal departments of local authorities in northwest England “is going to set up an online database to provide information on pricing and contacts for the firms and chambers they instruct.” This step moves well beyond what I wrote about three years ago, where only 18 authorities were involved (See my post of June 19, 2006: collective appointed four external counsel.). Information about some 44 law firms and 25 chambers will be available on the secure extranet.

Sharing information about law firm costs among purchasers approaches. As William Gibson famously wrote, “The future is here, it’s just not evenly distributed.”