Page 168 - MASTER COPY LEADERS BOOK 9editedJKK (24)_Neat
P. 168
Leaders in Legal Business
Project Management is Not What Lawyers Signed Up For
Today’s law firm attorneys are asked to do the impossible: handle increasing workloads and
increasing the quality of work, while somehow simultaneously lowering the total cost of representation and
improving overall profitability and margins. These tasks are not easily achieved in any industry, but they
are particularly difficult within the constraints of the traditional law firm operating model. This model (the
traditional pyramid) includes costly physical overhead and personnel, a culture of following precedent, and
a decentralized command structure.
Ultimately, legal managed services present two major advantages. First, managed services can free
up law firm associates to spend their time on the most complex, outcome-determinative work, allowing
them to achieve better results for their clients. Second, they allow firms to be agile and create value within
a new reality. As a result, firms can become more competitive, winning new clients, and increasing profits
on work with existing clients.
Lawyers Actually Practicing Law Again
Working strategically with LMS companies can help top firms improve their ability to recruit, train,
and retain the world’s top legal talent by sending a clear signal to the marketplace that a career at their law
firm will not revolve around years of inefficient document review or other high-volume, repetitive (but
important) work. Furthermore, attorneys in such firms will more quickly develop their skills in the
traditional practice of law, including oral advocacy, witness preparation, and legal writing. Associate
morale can improve by reducing the tremendous cost of a revolving door, and increased retention also
improves the ROI on training associates on the firm’s practice.
A Competitive Edge
Law firms can also deploy managed services to create a competitive advantage. In an RFP or fixed-
fee scenario, the firm presenting the lowest overall price tag on representation will often have the winning
edge. If deployed correctly, partnering with an alternative services provider can give law firms a
competitive advantage in attracting new clients.
Research shows that the vast majority of firms continue to face price competition, despite the
recovery in the overall economy. Moreover, many are adjusting their pricing strategy by integrating fixed
rates whereby the risk of cost overruns is born exclusively by the firm. Future-focused firms are getting
creative, pairing alternative fee arrangements with outsourcing, and advanced technology. And it’s
working: They are winning business with a lower cost solution, while still maintaining non-discounted
rates.
For smaller firms, the support of managed service providers can be a game-changer that can level
the playing field when competing with their larger rivals. Today, small- to mid-size firms with lower
headcounts are better able to compete for big, bet-the-company matters, because engaging with high-quality
LMS providers allow them to scale up with professional staffing without increasing overhead.
CONCLUSION
Despite all this action, the focus of the mainstream legal media still remains fixated on the AmLaw
200 and their always-exciting profits per partner (“PPP”) numbers. This boring narrative misses the most
dynamic and disruptive area of the industry, and we hope you continue to follow this story on Above the
Law, as we at alt.legal follow the disruptors working hard to make the legal system work better.
161
Project Management is Not What Lawyers Signed Up For
Today’s law firm attorneys are asked to do the impossible: handle increasing workloads and
increasing the quality of work, while somehow simultaneously lowering the total cost of representation and
improving overall profitability and margins. These tasks are not easily achieved in any industry, but they
are particularly difficult within the constraints of the traditional law firm operating model. This model (the
traditional pyramid) includes costly physical overhead and personnel, a culture of following precedent, and
a decentralized command structure.
Ultimately, legal managed services present two major advantages. First, managed services can free
up law firm associates to spend their time on the most complex, outcome-determinative work, allowing
them to achieve better results for their clients. Second, they allow firms to be agile and create value within
a new reality. As a result, firms can become more competitive, winning new clients, and increasing profits
on work with existing clients.
Lawyers Actually Practicing Law Again
Working strategically with LMS companies can help top firms improve their ability to recruit, train,
and retain the world’s top legal talent by sending a clear signal to the marketplace that a career at their law
firm will not revolve around years of inefficient document review or other high-volume, repetitive (but
important) work. Furthermore, attorneys in such firms will more quickly develop their skills in the
traditional practice of law, including oral advocacy, witness preparation, and legal writing. Associate
morale can improve by reducing the tremendous cost of a revolving door, and increased retention also
improves the ROI on training associates on the firm’s practice.
A Competitive Edge
Law firms can also deploy managed services to create a competitive advantage. In an RFP or fixed-
fee scenario, the firm presenting the lowest overall price tag on representation will often have the winning
edge. If deployed correctly, partnering with an alternative services provider can give law firms a
competitive advantage in attracting new clients.
Research shows that the vast majority of firms continue to face price competition, despite the
recovery in the overall economy. Moreover, many are adjusting their pricing strategy by integrating fixed
rates whereby the risk of cost overruns is born exclusively by the firm. Future-focused firms are getting
creative, pairing alternative fee arrangements with outsourcing, and advanced technology. And it’s
working: They are winning business with a lower cost solution, while still maintaining non-discounted
rates.
For smaller firms, the support of managed service providers can be a game-changer that can level
the playing field when competing with their larger rivals. Today, small- to mid-size firms with lower
headcounts are better able to compete for big, bet-the-company matters, because engaging with high-quality
LMS providers allow them to scale up with professional staffing without increasing overhead.
CONCLUSION
Despite all this action, the focus of the mainstream legal media still remains fixated on the AmLaw
200 and their always-exciting profits per partner (“PPP”) numbers. This boring narrative misses the most
dynamic and disruptive area of the industry, and we hope you continue to follow this story on Above the
Law, as we at alt.legal follow the disruptors working hard to make the legal system work better.
161
