Legal Marketing & PR

Cost of legal services is controllable

By Edward Poll, J.D., M.B.A., CMC

In a recent conversation between Inside and Outside Counsel, Inside Counsel expressed their concern over the escalating cost of legal services.

They seemed to concur that the greatest impact on cost is not the hourly rate being charged; staffing has the greatest impact on the overall cost of legal services. The next element with the greatest impact is strategy.

Starting with strategy, if you have a "scorched earth" approach, this contentiousness will result in higher legal fees. Appropriate sometimes and not at other times. Pick your poison ... and then look at the cost involved.  Next is the staffing; who you have working on a matter is significant. Is this a partner with a higher rate but greater experience who can rip through the analysis and work? Is this a young associate who will take longer to get up to speed but whose rate is lower? And what is your fee arrangement, a blended rate, pure hourly or a variation alternative fee? These are factors that general counsel are reviewing.

Another tool used by Inside Counsel to control costs is to get a budget from their law firms. In litigation matters, almost 100% are budgeted. Quite a change from the time when lawyers were saying they couldn't predict what the other side was going to do and therefore couldn't project the cost of litigation. If you can build the Empire State building on a fixed fee contract, you can budget for litigation. And that is now happening with great frequency.

Clients are wanting to assure that the legal fee is justified in relation to the value of the matter. Thus, the budget is a tool not only for the client to decide whether to go forward, but also to make sure the law firm does not get out of control.

Full post as published by Law Biz Blog on August 21, 2009 (boomark / email).