Legal news and trends for Canadian in-house counsel and c-suite executives
Issue link: https://digital.canadianlawyermag.com/i/50891
A joint venture with Serengeti Law T he term "legal spend management" is appearing every- where these days, and for good reason. When done right, legal spend management can increase efficiency and cut costs at any size law department, but what does it look like in practice? The scenarios below are written from the perspective of a fictional in-house lawyer to illustrate how legal spend man- agement is accomplished day-to-day. And while hypothetical, some or all of these activities are a reality for more than 20 per cent of the in-house bar in North America — from solo general counsels to the world's largest law departments — who use online systems to connect directly with outside counsel, accord- ing to the 2009 Association of Corporate Counsel-Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey Report. Assign a Case 10:00am More Work to the Best Performers When I log on to our legal spend management system in the morning, my dashboard has an alert from our registered agent — the company was just served with an employment discrimination lawsuit. All service docu- mentation is there for review, along with calendared deadlines. I run a quick report to see similar cases and pull up evaluation information on the assigned firms. I compare objective results (case duration, fees/expenses, outcomes, budget performance, etc.), as well as evalua- tions from my in-house colleagues. Based on this information, I select a regional firm that has previously handled such cases for us in the past. I also find local counsel who specialize in employment litigation using a directory of more than 20,000 law firms that are connected to the system. I complete some background information about the case, check to see we have an engagement letter including retention guidelines, and assign the case to the lawyer, who immediately receives a dashboard alert. Outside counsel can perform a conflicts check and immediately review the docu- ments residing in our shared project file. Advantages of systematic performance tracking: • A shared system collects objective data about spending, duration, budgets, and results. It can also collect periodic evaluations from in-house counsel using simple online forms. In-house counsel use this information to make informed decisions and assign work to the best perform- ers. The information is also valuable when discussing opportunities for improvement with outside counsel. • Performance information also supports convergence — selecting a panel of firms that charge preferred rates in exchange for more work. Convergence leads to the following common benefits: more efficiency because of enhanced knowledge of the company's business and processes; re-use of work product and lessons learned; willingness to help train in-house counsel to practise pre- ventive law; and more receptivity to alternative fees. Agree on a plan and track progress 11:00am Practise pro-active law When I assign this case to outside counsel, I require an expos- ure estimate and case plan within 15 days, as well as monthly status updates. The legal spend management system then Legal spend management corporate counsel By Rob Thomas A day in the life of...