Page 182 - 2019 - Leaders in Legal Business (k)
P. 182
I’d like to take a different approach for this article and provide some perspective from
personal experience. Setting aside the historical developments, changes in regulatory restrictions
outside of the US, and the disaggregation of legal services, I’d like to focus on what it is that makes
the Big 4 appealing to commercial legal departments.
Having been in-house at a leading international company, I was a purchaser of legal
services for 10-plus years. While the Big 4 were a
more recent entrant, it became clear to me that the
characteristics of the services they delivered to
other parts of the organization would be very
applicable to the legal department as well and very
useful. There are several attributes of the Big 4
that make their services stand apart from law firms
and stand above the alternative service providers.
These firms are many things to many
people, including, but not limited to:
1. Experienced Consultants — The Big 4 have extensive business and
management consulting practices with arguably the best professionals in the field.
They provide a perspective into legal services which will inherently be grounded
in business and tend to offer solutions to problems that contemplate the end
business goals. They are experts in all kinds of operations and will naturally focus
on efficiency and practical application of theory. Even if I would not have known
to ask for this perspective, the Big 4 will always provide it. That kind of experience
is priceless for the legal experts buying these services, who may not know that they
even need such operational insights.
2. Process Engineers — With an expertise in management consulting, these
professionals will undoubtedly and inevitably identify process improvements. After
all, managing is all about aligning resources and delivering outcomes, isn’t it? In
legal, we desperately need to rethink our allocation of resources. Much of what the
industry is going through today is about changing engagements with law firms,
adding new professionals into our mix, and outsourcing certain legal work. As
challenging as that is for legal professionals to consider and implement, it is very
easy for management consultants. Similarly, the focus on outcomes is never lost on
management consultants, yet is it often lost on lawyers. Too many lawyers think
that the outcome is the production of the legal advice, in whatever format. Helping
lawyers focus on outcomes is another priceless benefit the Big 4 bring to every
engagement.
3. Project Managers — There is no more beautiful deliverable than a piece of work
product delivered by a professional project manager. Beyond just the actual
deliverable, all work and engagements run smoother with a project manager
involved. People are kept on track, timelines are strict, and action items are
carefully tracked. The Big 4 are very comfortable with engaging project managers
and make it a common practice on many of their consulting engagements.
167
personal experience. Setting aside the historical developments, changes in regulatory restrictions
outside of the US, and the disaggregation of legal services, I’d like to focus on what it is that makes
the Big 4 appealing to commercial legal departments.
Having been in-house at a leading international company, I was a purchaser of legal
services for 10-plus years. While the Big 4 were a
more recent entrant, it became clear to me that the
characteristics of the services they delivered to
other parts of the organization would be very
applicable to the legal department as well and very
useful. There are several attributes of the Big 4
that make their services stand apart from law firms
and stand above the alternative service providers.
These firms are many things to many
people, including, but not limited to:
1. Experienced Consultants — The Big 4 have extensive business and
management consulting practices with arguably the best professionals in the field.
They provide a perspective into legal services which will inherently be grounded
in business and tend to offer solutions to problems that contemplate the end
business goals. They are experts in all kinds of operations and will naturally focus
on efficiency and practical application of theory. Even if I would not have known
to ask for this perspective, the Big 4 will always provide it. That kind of experience
is priceless for the legal experts buying these services, who may not know that they
even need such operational insights.
2. Process Engineers — With an expertise in management consulting, these
professionals will undoubtedly and inevitably identify process improvements. After
all, managing is all about aligning resources and delivering outcomes, isn’t it? In
legal, we desperately need to rethink our allocation of resources. Much of what the
industry is going through today is about changing engagements with law firms,
adding new professionals into our mix, and outsourcing certain legal work. As
challenging as that is for legal professionals to consider and implement, it is very
easy for management consultants. Similarly, the focus on outcomes is never lost on
management consultants, yet is it often lost on lawyers. Too many lawyers think
that the outcome is the production of the legal advice, in whatever format. Helping
lawyers focus on outcomes is another priceless benefit the Big 4 bring to every
engagement.
3. Project Managers — There is no more beautiful deliverable than a piece of work
product delivered by a professional project manager. Beyond just the actual
deliverable, all work and engagements run smoother with a project manager
involved. People are kept on track, timelines are strict, and action items are
carefully tracked. The Big 4 are very comfortable with engaging project managers
and make it a common practice on many of their consulting engagements.
167
