By Helen Kohl and Catherine Mitchell
Jordan Furlong's June 23, 2011 presentation to the LMA on Building the Perfect Beast - Preparing and Implementing the 21st Century Legal Business Model (Review a Summary Here).
Jordan responded by acknowledging that law firms (and their leaders) prefer to act on successful precedents, rather than lead the way. They are notorious for following, not leading trends. To bring your firm onside, his best advice is to provide concrete examples of other firms which have successfully responded to today’s paradigm shift in the legal marketplace. We asked him to provide such examples to help you persuade the leaders in your firm. He suggested these four compelling case studies, drawn from the College of Law Practice Management InnovAction Awards website.
1. A flourishing litigation firm that refuses to bill by the hour, Valorem Law Firm, Chicago
|
Learn more about billing and pricing
Go to The New Price Wars and The New Rules of Pricing.
|
One time-honoured notion is that it’s not possible to sell litigation services at fixed fees or on a risk-sharing basis – because too many variables can arise and too many unexpected problems can crop up during discovery, motions, trial, and so forth.
Chicago’s Valorem Law Firm, a litigation boutique, is demonstrating that that notion is a myth. Instead of billing by the hour, Valorem offers fees fixed in tigators’ experience, judgment and knowledge of what the litigant can realistically expect. The firm sketches risks out in advance and works incentives into its price.
And here’s the kicker: the client actually sets the final price! Valorem’s end-of-file invoice includes a “Client Adjustment Line” inviting the client to reduce the fee as much as it wants, all the way down to zero if need be, to reflect any unhappiness with the firm’s performance.
If this firm can flourish after abandoning the billable hour, any firm can.
|
2. A legal project management tool that systematizes business processes, Harrison Pensa LLP, London, ON
|
Learn more about systematization in the law
Go to The evolution of outsourcing and How I learned to stop worrying and love legal project management.
|
PolicyTool, an online tool developed and collaboratively launched by Harrison Pensa lawyer David Canton and digital media agency rTraction Canada, Inc. in 2010, helps small businesses meet today's legal requirement for a privacy policy, as mandated by the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).
AnchorLearn more about systematization in the law Go to The evolution of outsourcing and How I learned to stop worrying and love legal project management. PolicyTool is affordable for small businesses – just $49. It’s accessible and intuitive. And it meets an overwhelming knowledge gap. Harrison Pensa has also created a free social media policy generator. This tool has already helped numerous companies around the world develop employee guidelines to help them enter the legally murky world of social media.
|
3. A new approach to legal talent, Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP, London, U.K.
|
Learn more about new legal talent models
Go to Law firms on demand and The New Capitals of Law
|
AnchorLearn more about new legal talent models Go to Law firms on demand andThe new capitals of law) Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) founded Lawyers On Demand (LOD) in response to two issues coming to the fore in the U.K. legal marketplace: a) Their clients wanted to find a way to stretch their budgets further b) Many of their lawyers were seeking greater flexibility and autonomy.
In a direct challenge to the traditional models of legal service delivery, LOD sends talented freelance lawyers to its clients. These professionals – vetted and supported by BLP – work from their clients’ offices or out of their own home offices.
LOD has grown tenfold from its modest beginnings in 2007 as a pilot project with eight lawyers. Today it is an 80-lawyer team with repeat clients such as Google, LloydsTSB, Financial Times, Cisco, Barclays, Dell and Tesco. Since 2009, it also provides internal LOD assignments (known as iLOD) to BLP itself -- around 20 within the past year.
|
4. A triple threat: competitive pricing, use of business systems and modern legal talent deployment, Littler Mendelson, P.C., Offices throughout the U.S. and internationally
|
Learn more about the future of lawfirms
Go to A Changing of the Guard
|
AnchorLearn more about the future of lawfirms Go to A changing of the guard Littler Mendelson, P.C., the largest law firm in the U.S. exclusively devoted to representing management in employment, employee benefits and labor law matters, uses its Littler CaseSmartTM as a case-management solution that streamlines the way that cases are managed and also provides the benefits of a firm-developed proprietary technology platform, rigorous quality assurance measures and an alternative lawyer staffing model, including:
- For lawyers: a “smart system” that anticipates their needs as they investigate facts, conduct research, prepare responsive documentation and perform their legal and risk analyses. They gain increased efficiency, productivity and accountability.
- For clients: transparent, online access to information about the status of their individual legal matters, as well as key performance indicators on overall work performed in the system. They gain confidence that the management of their work meets the highest possible quality standards.
|