(This is part 3 of a 4 part series. You can download the entire SOLP 2013 here.)
For the last fifty or sixty years, law firms have used the infamous hourly billing rate pricing model almost exclusively. More importantly, during this era they had the luxury of constantly raising prices under growing demand. This
(This is part 2 of a 4 part series. You can download the entire SOLP 2013 here.)
In-house legal departments are now facing the same cost savings pressures as other corporate departments. In the past “legal” was able to largely avoid this conversation with leadership. They would dodge the question by insisting that they
(This is part 1 of a 4 part series. You can download the entire SOLP 2013 here.)
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| IMage [CC] – Frank Kovalchek |
Partners, Executives, CFOs, CIOs, CPOs, Marketers, and Legal Pricing Aficionados of all types, titles, and roles, I have come to report that the current state of legal pricing is absolutely chaotic.
Dan: You may not know this Jane, but I’ve been moving into more of a Pricing role at my firm.
Jane: I’m impressed. And a little frightened for the well being of your firm.
Dan: Every firm needs to have at least one person focused on determining the right price and fee structure for every
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| Image [cc] Rigmarole |
As legal pricing evolves, it is taking many twists and turns – along with some convoluted spins. The initial efforts by clients to save money typically results in requests for bigger discounts. This allows the GC to go back to the CEO and say “we saved 5% more this year.”
After a
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| Image [cc] Fanboy30 |
A recent survey of law firms suggest that somewhere in the neighborhood of 80 law firms employ a “Pricing Specialist” of some sort. The report states that “the use of pricing specialists remains relatively rare in all but the largest firms.” Of course this report caught my eye since it also notes
I recently stumbled upon an alternative pricing scheme that I instinctively felt was wrong. The details are irrelevant, but I was struck by how vastly different the attorney’s point of view was from my own. So I tried to expand my viewpoint and to see the problem from all sides. I came up with three
When librarians complain about the state of law firm / law publisher relationships, it seems to get ignored or dismissed as simply a standard response. When BigLaw Partners make the same complaints, it seems people stand up and notice.
Just for fun, go ahead and contrast this to the Law Firm / Client relationship