Relative ranking of the services a law department should deliver

Deep within the LexisNexis Martindale-Hubble 2005 “Study into the European market for legal services,” there are findings from a survey regarding “defining excellence in deliver” (at 20). Some 150 law department respondents ranked first, second and third from among seven choices concerning what they think defines excellence in terms of service they provide to their organizations.

Some comments are in order for the top four choices: (1) “Support corporate transactions by providing good and timely advice,” (2) “Educate business managers to avoid risks,” (3) “Provide guidance to help businesses meet their objectives,” and (4) “Understand and interpret laws regulating or impacting the company.”

Legal advice on transactions (1) is more focused than education of clients on legal risks (2), but there is much overlap. Likewise, counsel given to clients to help them meet objectives (3) encompasses transactional services (1) and avoidance of legal risks (2). And applying the law (4) applies to each of the three preceding services.

The lack of precision coupled with the absence of definitions and the inter-twining of concepts leaves this data extremely loose and possibly of low use.