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We are much more involved in the proceedings than a lot of in-house counsel would be in that we are part of the litigation team. our lawyers are like senior associate or junior partners on the file. AriF AhMAd, re:sound recommend some kind of invoice review such as e-billing. The system can review against the guidelines established," he says, adding it can be used for performance management metrics. "If you don't have metrics you really can't advance," says Sigurdson who likes to look at cost per case on a litigated file and level of complexity by law firm, by lawyer, and by region. "To not have a robust understanding of your litigation, I think you're really hurting yourself. If you can't measure it, you can't manage it." Sigurdson concedes the insurance bar is quite advanced in this area because it's a high commodity area of litigation. He says the class action bar thinks what they do is too specialized to do it but the big corporations don't think that way. "Once you can understand and classify your litigations by level of complexity, you can then compare your law firms and see which ones are giving you quality legal services in an efficient manner. Those are the firms you want to partner with — the ones that will try and resolve a file efficiently and effectively for the client." He says the problem with the hourly rate is that it rewards inefficiency. "It's not their fault; it's their business model. It's a lack of alignment. So if we know 98 per cent of litigated files settle (not including big class actions) you want to promote efficiencies and reduce a file's shelf life." Arif Ahmad, vice president and general counsel of Re:Sound, a music licensing non-profit organization that handles matters before the Copyright Board, admits his matters are different than the usual commercial litigation but says his concerns are the same as his in-house colleagues who handle large litigation files. "We are much more involved in the proceedings than a lot of in-house counsel would be in that we are part of the litigation team. Our lawyers are like a senior associate or junior partners on the file," he says. "When I first came here I thought it was a novel approach but I must say it works very well and our external counsel are good about understanding it's a different level of input." Ahmad reports to his executive team about how matters will be handled and gets questioned about how it will impact other issues happening in the company. For him, cost is the number one challenge. Re:Sound works with a small number of firms and doesn't currently conduct RFPs, but would consider that approach. "In-house counsel are looking for certainty and it's when we have to go back to our executives and boards and explain why things haven't gone according to plan where it gets difficult," he says. "I find you get the most results when you can build a relationship with your external counsel. They get to know your business and what your goals are — it's a more strategic perspective rather than just cranking out another piece of litigation." When it comes to fee arrangements — whether it's blended rates, credits back, or discounts — he says all those options represent a shared responsibility between in-house and external counsel and they have some "skin in the game." However some firm lawyers still feel what they do is high-value work that shouldn't be subject to budget formulas. For large cases, Landry of Davis LLP in Vancouver says the firm has had some arrangements where they bill at 80 per cent of standard rates and if successful they get full rate plus 20-per-cent bonus. "I'm not a big fan of contingencies because you become part of the play. I have no problem being incented but I'm not sure it's the best way," he says. "I pride myself on giving good quality, high-end legal advice. I'm not sure it's a great idea to have me in the middle of that because all of a sudden you get skin in the game." IH Your lawyer. Your law firm. Your business advisor. BennettJones-3_IH_Apr_13.indd 1 w w w. c a n a d i a n law y er m a g . c o m / i n h o u s e june 13-02-26 10:34 AM 2013 • 27

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