In Law Department Spending, Efficiency Trumps Cost
Shannon Green, Corporate Counsel
The biggest increases were seen in outside expenditures. For the second year in a row, the median outside budget increase was a whopping 10 percent. Controlling costs topped the list of 2012 priorities at 24 percent—so why have so many corporations apparently been doing just the opposite? “You have to wonder if there’s a disconnect between this idea that controlling costs is the number one issue,” says DiLucchio, “and what’s actually happening.” (read the article) (Download Altman Weil’s Chief Legal Officer Survey)
Jason Emanis
According to ALM Legal Intelligence’s Law Department Metrics Benchmarking Survey, the answer to that question is a whopping, YES! Over 80% of respondents have seen an increase in in-house workloads.
Click here to get more sample findings from this year’s survey.
2011 Law Department Metrics Benchmarking Survey
Anthony Paonita, Corporate Counsel
You’ve told us about spending, staffing, and salaries. You’ve told our surveyors about some of your plans, how you spend that outside counsel budget, and on whom. Or at least how many firms. (Graphs and charts are here [PDF].)
We’ve summarized some of the findings, with Holloway pointing out what was interesting to him. And then he held a conversation with Jonathan Oviatt, the general counsel of the Mayo Clinic, about the results. One of the most interesting points Oviatt made about gathering survey data like this is that he has to use numbers to do his job. (read the article)
Richard Susskind: The End of Alternative Fee Arrangements?
Ari Kaplan, ReinventingProfessionals.com
Susskind noted that the pressure on in-house legal teams is enormous and they will be asking law firms to consider new efficiencies in the coming year. Ultimately, he said, 2012 will not be about pricing differently, but about working differently (e.g., outsourcing, offshoring, subcontracting, etc). (read the post, watch the video interview)
InsideCounsel/Blickstein 4th Annual Law Department Operations Survey
Jason Emanis
The InsideCounsel/Blickstein 4th Annual Law Department Operations Survey is out! The survey was mailed out Nov. 24th with the December issue of InsideCounsel Magazine, and is not online as of today; however, I got a sneak peak at the results.
So, what are the top three challenges of managing law department functions?
- Identify opportunities for business improvement & cost savings
- Driving/implementing change
- Document ROI of the position to the corporation
The typical longevity of a matter management system averages five to seven years
Rees Morrison, Law Department Management
Early in the data collection this year for the GC Metrics benchmark survey, 69 law departments stated how many years they had been using their matter management system. The average number of years those departments had had their system installed was 6.4 years. (read the post)
The 2011 Patent Litigation Survey
Despite judges reining in damages awards, patent litigation shows growth.
Jan Wolfe, Corporate Counsel
The survey, which ranks law firms according to how many federal district court patent cases they handled in 2010, reveals that the business of patent litigation is booming at many firms. (read the article)
It’s No Surprise: It’s All About Value
Veta T. Richardson, In-house ACCess
ACC’s 2011 Chief Legal Officer Survey revealed that CLO’s are concerned with regulatory issues, doing more with less and seeing value in outside as well as inside counsel relationships. (read the post)
4 Orgs That Sell Law Department Benchmark Metrics
Jason Emanis
Here are four organizations that provide law department benchmarking metrics that you can purchase.
General Counsel Metrics
ACC and Empsight
ALM
HBR Consulting
Also, Rees Morrison has recently published a post on his blog regarding the season in which they all collect data that might just skew the data. Check it out here.
Methodology and benchmarks: artifacts of collecting or handling the data that undesirably influence results
Rees Morrison, Law Department Management
Artifacts, weeds in the gardens of benchmarks, crop up when how the data is collected or prepared for analysis distorts the findings in some way. This risk of skewed irregularity goes to methodology, not to sample size or analysis…(read the post)
