$100,000 or less . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17.4%
$101,000-$500,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0%
$501,000-$1 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.8%
$1 million to $3 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.0%
$3.1 million to $5 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8%
$5.1 million to $10 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9%
More than $10 million . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.0%
What was the external legal
spend for the Canadian legal
department in your last fiscal year?
Government
(municipal, regional,
provincial, federal, and
First Nations, including
boards and tribunals)
21.6
%
Financial
20.2
%
Industry/
manufacturing
12.4
%
Resource based
13.3
%
Service
10.6
%
Non-profit
8.7
%
Technology
6.9
%
Professional
Services
6.4
%
What sector
is your company/
organization in?
NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015
34
INHOUSE
I
f it seems like everywhere you go these days someone
is talking about alternative fee arrangements, you're
not alone. It's been a popular topic at legal conferences
and workshops for a few years now, but have they re-
ally taken off? And what exactly is an AFA, do fl at fees
or discounts count?
David Felicissimo is one general counsel who wonders
that a lot. Last year, he completed an executive education
certifi cate at Harvard Law School where AFAs were a fre-
quent topic of conversation among his colleagues. As the
"only legal offi cer" in a growing Montreal private invest-
ment company, Felicissimo works for an organization that
specializes in the acquisition and development of Internet-
based businesses — their assets are on the web and their au-
dience is worldwide. His very new-economy company still
does a lot of work with external counsel based on the old
billable hour.
Testing the
AFA waters
The annual Canadian Lawyer Corporate Counsel
Survey shows alternative fee arrangements are
out there, but in-house are the ones primarily
driving the conversation.
BY JENNIFER BROWN
