It's time

We understand that you have a lot on your plate, and it's a sensitive topic, but it's time to have an open conversation about how your legal department procures legal services.

When faced with a legal problem, most of you simply call the lawyer you trust the most and have them bill you for the time spent dealing with it. Or perhaps you email two or three lawyers for quotes. In the end, most legal bills are based on the time the lawyer spent working for you.

And, when discussing ways to optimize legal spending, most legal departments still heavily rely on long-term arrangements they have made with their panel firms, which usually involve discounts on hourly rates.

It's been that way forever.

But it doesn't make sense.

Have you ever thought it strange that the lawyer who needs the most time to do the work stands to make the most money?

So, if you're good and efficient as a lawyer - which is to the advantage of any client - you get paid less. If you're slow, because you're ill-equipped or less experienced in the matter, you make more!

That's peculiar, isn't it?

Unfair.

It gets even stranger because, in today's legal market, there's another important aspect to consider: the extent to which a firm has implemented legal technology in its day-to-day practice.

Law firms that have invested in the optimal use of technology - which again is to the advantage of any client - are bound to make less than firms in which the partners refused to invest. So firms that don't innovate are rewarded with higher earnings because they get to sell more billable hours.

Sure, you work for a big company, so it doesn't come out of your pocket, but how would you feel if you were personally paying the bills?

In today's market, using billable hours as a basis for procurement is not only illogical but also unfair to the firms that are efficient and innovative (and unfair to your shareholders who do pay the bills). Besides, there is no valid reason for it.

We're here to help you turn this around. Without hassle and without jeopardizing the relationship you have with your trusted law firms. Just contact drop me an e-mail at bart@lawyerlinq.com to learn more.