Certain firms are increasing their rates for more experienced associates. In a climate in which alternative (fixed) fees are becoming more and more popular, I view this uptick in rates as a hedge against potential cost overruns in fixed fee arrangements.
While we’ve seen a shift in economic power from attorney to client, I’ve encountered more general counsel who are less concerned with merely negotiating lower rates than they are with a more holistic approach to cost control – an approach that not only reduces costs, but also manages expectations and improves performance.
Our clients want to reduce fees and expenses, but if the tradeoff is a decrease in quality or an increase in administrative oversight (of less experienced associates), any short-term economic benefit will be far outweighed by more fee volatility and a contentious relationship. Some, therefore, are willing to pay for more experienced attorneys as long as there are corresponding increases in predictability and efficiency.
It’s January, the start of a new year, and a time to say good-bye to 2009. But if you’re like most law department managers looking at 2010, perhaps ”happy” is a stretch goal. “Sane” would be nice, and really goes without saying, so I apologize for even bringing it up. How about “predictable” - predictability in the nature, timing and level of legal fees and expenses? (Read More)
How did it come to this? Managing your legal department and controlling legal costs has all of the excitement of the new NFL season, but with all of the satisfaction of filing your taxes with an amount due. (Read More)
I’ve worked with corporate law departments that struggled with the decision of whether to drop their high-priced firms in favor of those with lower rates. While this may make sense in the short term, the risk is that if a case goes south, the blame comes straight back to the in-house counsel who brought in the new firm, even if such blame is unwarranted. If you’re in this position, it appears that you only have two choices: stay with the high-priced firms and sacrifice control of your budget; or switch firms and assume this risk (real or perceived).
Enter the third option: (Read More)
