The strategic-sourcing approach to legal service delivery is meant to be systematic, continuous, and collaborative. Whether you start with one of the illustrative examples in Part I or not, start somewhere. But recognize that there is no finish line. Having a single conversation is not enough. Rather, the objective is to systematize regular periods of …
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Casey Flaherty
A Strategic Approach to Purchasing Legal Services, Pt. I
If a law department is spending six figures or more with the same law firm year after year, the two are in a de facto strategic partnership. Whether or not the law department takes advantages of the attendant leverage to improve its supply base, rather than seek illusory discounts, is a separate question. A strategic-sourcing …
- January 20, 2016
- Alex Cook
What Law Departments Can Learn from Burritos and Cars
The recent events at Chipotle have once again highlighted the importance of supply chains in our modern economy. The law has long recognized the ability of large corporate purchasers to affect the behavior of their downstream suppliers. For better or worse, legislation on topics from sustainable food sources to conflict minerals and human trafficking is …
- January 5, 2016
- Alex Cook
Zero-sum Game: Hourly Billing, Productivity and Profitability
Law departments and law firms are not locked in a zero-sum game. Law departments can get higher quality work at lower cost while law firms increase profitability. In a flat-fee environment, the dynamic is obvious—cost reductions via productivity gains from investment in process and technology outpace price reductions. But even under the reign of the …
- December 23, 2015
- Alex Cook
Let Data Be Your Guide to Improving
With people and pricing in place, process offers the most levers to drive continuous improvement. An excellent way for law departments to drive continuous process improvement at law firms is for law departments to actually speak to law firms about continuous process improvement in concrete terms. How? Data-driven conversations. My approach to structured dialogue is …
- December 9, 2015
- Alex Cook
Warning Signs in the Inside/Outside Counsel Relationship, Part II
Read part one of this post here. When I moved from a large law firm to the law department of a large company, I was in unfamiliar territory. I was charged with managing outside counsel who were domain experts outside my personal niche. They were my subordinates in the narrow hierarchy of the corporation’s legal value …
- December 1, 2015
- Alex Cook
Warning Signs in the Inside/Outside Counsel Relationship, Part I
Few relationships end with a bang. Most end with a whimper as the two sides slowly drift apart. While there are no immediate existential threats to the relationship between law departments and law firms, the drift has been apparent for over a decade. Realizations have crept ever downward. And the trend continues with law departments …
- November 30, 2015
- Alex Cook
A Story of Sandwiches
My first interaction with the law firm was as an account rep for a famous Los Angeles deli. We made great sandwiches. They ordered sandwiches in bulk. The law firm was my best and worst customer: Best because they bought a lot of sandwiches; worst because they were never satisfied. The first time we delivered …
- November 9, 2015
- Alex Cook