Per BTI Consulting, 56% of legal departments ran at least one RFP of some type last year when hiring outside legal services. That is an encouraging sign for those of us who believe in the power of competition to enable better decisions about who to hire. It also means, however, close to half of legal departments […]

Managing outside counsel is complicated. And, so are their bills. With complex itemizations and unclear formats, the bills trigger misunderstandings and lead to frustration. For many reasons, forecasting your annual budget is a challenge. You often wonder what you can do to help simplify the bills and drive predictability in your budget. Many in-house teams […]

Law firms often ask us what clients look for in RFP responses. Beyond competitive pricing and sound expertise and service, the specifics vary significantly from client-to-client. After pouring through proposal after proposal, it has come clear to us that there are some potholes to avoid. Here are four key watch-outs for law firms when preparing […]

What would you want if you were on the receiving end of an RFP?  You would likely have a couple simple requests.  Experience shows that a respectful RFP, at its core, has two key elements:  honest communication and clear instructions. Honest Communication From pre-launch through firm-selection and final communication to the participants, honest communication is […]

Your law firms are under pressure. Although it’s unlikely to come up in conversation, they are more appreciative of your business than ever. The truth is that they will bend over backward to keep your work. So what do law firms know that they aren’t necessarily telling you? Client Demand is Softening External legal spending has […]

There has been a lot of chatter of late about “big data” and measuring law firm rates, efficiency and value. In a marketplace as fragmented as the market for outside counsel, big data no doubt can help separate those who provide solid bang for the buck from those who over charge and under deliver. But […]

Read it and believe: it is a buyer’s market for legal services. There are many forces at work here, but two clear drivers are overcapacity and unbundling.   Appreciating the reality of each of these market forces will empower you to approach your engagements from a position of buying power. Overcapacity Overcapacity in the legal profession […]

Do you remember what it was like to be in private practice and on the receiving end of an RFP? Did it trigger feelings of hope or dread? Maybe you couldn’t wait to submit, or maybe you got a pit in your stomach and were thankful that the marketing team would handle the majority of […]

A lot of our clients run what is commonly referred to as a Rate Card RFP. The principle is simple: ask the law firms to list staff members and the hourly rates they will charge for work they may be asked to perform. You are not asking them to build a budget for a specific […]