Provides overview of factors impacting cost and delivery of legal services to corporations, insurers, and others

1. Claire Louis
For Society of CPCU - Central New Jersey Chapter
May 11, 2010
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2.  The economy
 Transforming change
 A major shift: the client
as driver of legal costs
 Legal cost-control practices
 Considerations
 Resources
 Discussion
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3.  Legal budgets cut by 10% to 25%
 Focus on predictable legal costs delivering
greater value
 Increasing shift from billable hours to AFAs
 Convergence: consolidation of matters with
fewer law firms
 Companies moving to smaller law firms with
lower rates; larger law firms feeling the
pressure
 Is this a cycle or will the
changes become permanent?
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4.  Global forces are radically changing the way
law firms and companies do business
◦ Technology
◦ Legal process outsourcing
◦ Off-shoring
◦ Influx of private equity:
2007 U.K. Legal Services Act
◦ Legal education
 Corporations are leading
the charge
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5. The new focus is on how legal services
are delivered.
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6.  Law firm panels
 Negotiated billing rates
 Case budgets
 Legal billing guidelines
 Electronic billing
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7.  Use project management and workflow analysis
to introduce efficiencies into the litigation
process
 Outsource routine, repetitive legal work such as
document review and contract drafting to lower-
cost offshore law firms (Rio Tinto)
 Leverage knowledge-sharing
tools to reduce redundancy
 Emphasize performance and cost-
effectiveness when evaluating
law firms
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8.  Be a leader: educate yourself about the
innovations in legal services delivery and
identify opportunities for reducing your
company’s legal costs
 The key to achieving optimal legal cost-
control results is a long-term relationship
with the law firm built on mutual trust: start
the dialogue now!
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9.  The Association of Corporate Counsel web
site, www.acc.com, provides substantial
public information on the ACC’s Value
Challenge project for increasing the value of
legal services from outside counsel.
 Law 21: Dispatches from a Legal Profession
on the Brink, www.law21.ca, a blog authored
by Joshua Furlong, consultant on legal
services delivery
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10. DISCUSSION
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11. Claire Louis
Insurance Claims Consultant
claire_a_louis@yahoo.com
201-675-1141
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