Canadian Lawyer InHouse

DECEmBEr 2014 34 INHOUSE With RBC's RFP approach for any spend over $75,000, it changes the dynamic. "So if we're spending $75,000 I'm not in a posi- tion to say this lawyer is the lawyer I'd like to handle the case — I have to have at least three and in some jurisdictions it can be tough to come up with three where you can say all three are good," he says. dIVersITy It seems many in-house counsel are still lag- ging behind their peers in larger organiza- tions when it comes to attitudes about wheth- er inclusion of women and minorities should be a determining factor in the legal teams they deal with. According to the survey results, 77 per cent of corporate counsel said they are not asking law fi rms they do business with to provide a diverse roster of lawyers as part of an overall diversity strate- gy; 15 per cent said they are asking, and seven per cent said they are thinking about it. "Yes, there's no question that, as an in- dustry, we are just embarking on this impor- tant journey towards diversity," says Simon Fish, general counsel and executive diversity champion of BMO Financial Group. "But I'm very confi dent our concerted efforts as global enterprises will affect change and encourage other companies to follow our lead." In late September, Fish announced that data collected around diversity metrics over the last two years from its law fi rms will eventually infl uence what fi rms BMO's legal department does business with. "The bank- ing industry is a major employer of legal ser- vices in Canada and is in a position to move the needle in the corporate diversity space," says Fish. "Law fi rms have never before been challenged in this way. This initiative will be an evolution for the industry with the goal of making a difference in the way we do business with suppliers." Fish says the policy BMO announced "will have traction. Firms who wish to do business with us now clearly understand that there is a bona fi de opportunity to gain a competitive advantage over other compa- nies vying for our business, not just by com- plying with our request for diversity metrics but also in our assessment of their diversity performance relative to their peers." In just two years, 97 per cent of the law fi rms that responded to BMO's request for metrics confi rmed they now collect di- versity metrics and understand they must provide those metrics as a precondition to being included on BMO's external counsel panel. Fish adds that colleagues at TD Bank have also committed to requesting diversity metrics of the fi rms they hire. "My sense is that the other banks are similarly disposed." For York University, Silversides says it is "critical" that legal service providers refl ect and promote diversity within their fi rms. "This is so fundamental to York Univer- sity that we do not even need to ask: we are presented each year with a roster of lawyers from our primary external law fi rm which refl ects, among other things, the diversity which we expect them to maintain. In our annual meetings with the managing partner of our primary external legal service provid- er, the topic of diversity is always touched upon in some manner," she says. Volume oF work Is uP Overall, 64.6 per cent of respondents said the volume of legal work carried out by their departments and external counsel combined is likely to grow in 2015 from 2014 (com- pared to 60.1 per cent the previous year) while 35.4 per cent said they expect no sig- nifi cant growth. The majority of those who said their department will grow said it will because the company is in growth mode: From the following examples of AFAs please select the ones you are currently using or would consider using: Discount - 56.39% Flat - 55.64% Fixed - 51.13% Capped - 49.62% Value billing - 35.34% Collared - 17.29% Retainer - 17.29% Contingency - 15.79% Holdback/success fee - 13.53% Phased fees on specific projects - 10.53% Busted deal - 9.02% Would you be receptive to another law firm if they proposed an alternative fee arrangement? Yes 76% No 24% Who introduced the idea of using AFAs? We did 73% Our law firm suggested it 6% We have mutually discussed AFAs 21%

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