Canadian Lawyer InHouse

driven by two things though," says Dabb. "If you're on an hourly rate one is the hourly rate and the other is the amount of time. You have to look at the value you're getting from the lawyers working on your files. Are they efficient? Are they deliver- ing real value-add to the files you are sending to them?" Dabb looked at the relationship as a whole and what other aspects Lerners were bringing to the table in terms of value-added items. For example, Lerners has provided presentations for Telus' legal services on class actions and other topics of importance to the department. For the first three years of its relation- ship with Lerners, Telus was billed on a blended hourly rate but moved back to the more traditional hourly rate arrangement after its review. "The blended hourly rate means you are charged one hourly rate for whoever the timekeeper is. It has a place, I think, but really I think it' ate where there is more commodity-type work going on — where similar work is being done over and over, s more appropri- " says Dabb. "The advantage to the blended rate is where there is a high volume of work and all of it is very similar in nature. year retainer arrangement with Lerners was that the company didn't have a lot of that commodity-type work. "We have very unique litigation matters whether it' What Dabb found during its first three- " a major commercial dispute, major claims litigation matter, class action, whatever it might be, so from my perspective I like to be able to pick the specific lawyer or lawyers working on the file, especially now that I know the team more. The idea behind the blended rate is you cede that option to the law firm and they assign the lawyers." Upon review, Dabb realized Telus s didn't have quite the same line of choice with the blended rate option. He also knew the legal team dedicated to the Lerners account — some 15 lawyers — better than when he had started work- ing with them three years before. "For that reason I now prefer the tradi- tionally hourly rate. From my perspective, viewing the relationship as a partnership, my approach is you want to be paying for the work you're getting — the hourly rate for the expertise that' particular file." s being brought to a points out, Dabb understands what Telus needs from the business perspective. "It' not often that we have in-house counsel to come up with a strategy on how to deal with a matter, to discuss the practical real- ties of the client while still understanding how it fits into the litigation world, which I think Alan is very good at doing. He is really good about saying who a file might be appropriate for on the team." And while having billing options is It also works because, as Cianfarani s important, what may trump everything is whether an external firm relationship has delivered on value. "It' evolve — you're not stuck in a static rela- tionship, s great that the relationship can be challenges and it's how you deal with those challenges and strengthen the rela- tionship that matters." IH " says Dabb. "There are going to Between print issues of Canadian Lawyer InHouse keep abreast of news and developments affecting the in-house bar with our bi-weekly electronic newswire. INHOUSE WWW.CANADIANLAWYERMAG.COM/INHOUSE AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2012 • 35

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