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Law Firms: Three Steps to a Better Proposal

Recently a national law firm asked us to visit with them to discuss how they could improve their RFP responses submitted through our platform. They wanted to discuss the finer points of proposal writing – i.e. beyond the obvious point of offering compelling pricing. We were happy to oblige. While much of what we shared was specific to their own proposals, what follows are a few basic tips that can benefit any law firm responding to an RFP.

  1. Follow the Instructions – If the RFP has specific instructions, follow them. If a firm can’t meet this basic request, how on earth do they expect to win the work on offer? Nothing more really needs to be said. A firm may think there is a better way to present information. They may be right. But that really misses the point.   The client is the consumer of the information. They have their reasons for their request and they are the ones who will judge the proposals. So do exactly what the client asks.
  2. Keep It SimpleFar too often our clients talk about how complicated some law firms make their pricing proposal. This usually takes two forms.

a.  The firm submits a proposal that notes a host of assumptions and other factors upon which the pricing is made contingent – to the point where what exactly is being offered is unclear.

b.  The firm submits a detailed budget that is obviously constructed for internal consumption more than it is for the client’s. They might, for instance, provide a host of different hourly rates in a budget that vary from phase to phase and individual to individual on a litigation matter and then announce the entire proposal is for a “fixed fee”.

Neither of these looks good when the client has other, far-less-ambiguous proposals to review. Example (a) can look almost churlish. Yes, the client may not have provided the firm with sufficient detail, but no respondent is alone in that regard. If others are providing clear pricing, this type of proposal stands to get less serious consideration. Among other things, this type of proposal can look like a bait and switch and suggests the firm’s primary concern is assuring they accept no risk in the engagement.  In our experience it is far better to signal simply that the proposal presumes the parties will confirm assumptions and work scope in good faith before the engagement begins, than to provide a War and Peace version of “if this, then that” to the client.  It demonstrates the relationship will be grounded in trust and that the firm expects both sides to behave reasonably.

Example (b) screams out that the firm is trying to calculate a profit margin – something the client has no concern for when making their selection. In fact, we’ve had firms admit this is exactly what they were doing – having forgotten that the primary consumer of the proposal is the client, not the internal pricing expert.

  1. Be Brief A request for references is not typically an invitation to describe a host of different matters in gross detail that you have handled for the reference. A request for bios for staff members is not a request for an autobiographical novel. Remember, the client is going to consume a series of proposals. Provide the most relevant information requested in the most compelling and compressed format possible. You want to stand out by getting to the point. You don’t want to be the firm who provides over 50 pages of marketing material on an RFP the client is processing in two days.

About the author – Dave Sampsell is a 20-year lawyer with extensive experience managing large, complex legal engagements around the world and overall corporate legal budgets. He presently serves as General Counsel of a NASDAQ-listed company and is a Founder and Principal of BanyanRFP. BanyanRFP saves companies time and money through an easy-to-use, private and secure online application for the creation and processing of legal services RFPs. For more information, visit www.BanyanRFP.com

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