Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m A p r i l 2 0 1 4 19 to elude both clients and their lawyers because we have no idea, aside from the hourly rate charged by a lawyer of so many years experience in a given field in a given city, of what is "market" for a service. Nevertheless, both sides acknowledge the billable hour is no lon- ger a satisfactory gauge of value for every type of legal service. So how do law firms provide value in this transitional market? How do we get those clients who seem not to trust us to change their minds? An obvious answer is metrics. The present tension affecting many external counsel-client relationships is largely a result of a misunderstanding about the value lawyers add (or what exactly we do and how many resources it requires) and what it should cost. Law- yers who are able not only to generate but to communicate to clients accurate metrics on the time it takes to accom- plish the work they are being asked to perform as well as on the possible issues that might arise to either complicate or facilitate the completion of a file, will have a clear advantage in the present market. These metrics should not be difficult for a law firm to produce. There are many software programs on the market that can assist. In the same way our cli- ents must generate similar information for their clients or shareholders, we who practise law as our core business should be able to provide information on our product. We should be able to determine what type of services our long-standing clients require and how we can provide these as cost-effectively as possible. We are also best positioned to run com- parisons among various clients to ensure each received the resources and pricing required. In addition to showing clients we understand their business and run ours on the same principles of transparency and accountability, these metrics can be used to help train our younger lawyers and improve our processes. I persist in believing a form of "annual report" for each client with whom a law firm has a long-standing relationship is a much more effective business develop- ment tool than glossy brochures and advertisements claiming to understand their business. Although it would be overly optimis- tic to believe the mistrust between some clients and their lawyers will disappear overnight, there are many things we as law firms can do to speed up the process. The transparency this exchange creates will contribute to dispelling the tension between clients and lawyers around bill- ing. Additionally, as the information is dispelled throughout the community, it may hasten the process of establishing what is market. Danielle Olofsson is a knowledge man- agement lawyer at Dentons Canada LLP in charge of civil law. She has practised law in Montreal, Paris, and Stockholm and is a member of the Quebec and Paris bar associations. She can be reached at danielle.olofsson@dentons.com TIME: EVENT: Part-time, Executive LLM program for corporate counsel, government and practising lawyers http://www.law.utoronto.ca/programs/GPLLM.html Classes Starting in September 2014 Upcoming Information Sessions: Wednesday April 30 12:00 to 1:30 pm Tuesday May 6 12:00 to 1:30 pm U of T Faculty of Law, Room FA3 84 Queens Park Crescent West, Toronto Information Sessions are drop-in. All are welcome to attend. For questions please contact 416-978-1400 / gpllm@utoronto.ca ntitled-3 1 14-03-18 2:04 PM

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