The Value-Able Law Department

Number of Pages: 173

The current pressures on law departments, which are likely to intensify, rather than abate, are such that the law departments must explore new avenues to maximize the value that their companies realize from their investment in legal services.

The internal and external resources deployed on a company's behalf must all contribute as fully and as efficiently as possible to achieving the company's legal goals. Forward-thinking law departments have to re-examine their approaches to identifying and deploying the legal resources at their disposal.

In some cases, perhaps more work should be completed by in-house attorneys and other personnel of the company. Other companies may need to assign more work to outside counsel in order to achieve the most efficiency. Some companies may find that they should pull more work in-house on some matters and more work should be handled by outside counsel as to other matters.

Managing Partner magazine's new report The Value-Able Law Department: Securing Maximum Value from Internal and External Legal begins by identifying the key challenges that legal departments currently face and impact this has on expectations of their clients.

It then looks to provide innovative, realistic and simple solutions that can be cost-effectively applied in a post-recessionary environment. The report considers numerous issues including:

• Defining and measuring the Value of your legal department and external legal services
• Effective planning to identify and apply the appropriate internal and external resources
• The role and importance of metrics in demonstrating value
• Overcoming the "make-or-buy" dilemma - the choice of hiring lawyers or relying on outside legal service providers
• Increasing the in-house role – taking on some of the services formerly provided by external counsels
• The importance of Knowledge management, and the use of technology to provide quicker and more cost effective legal services
• Maximizing value through department organization and structure
• Controlling costs and compliance of an organizations of legal service
• Re-evaluating value of outside counsel through expertise, resources and capabilities
• Reducing costs and improving the product and service from external counsel
• An in-depth look at Alternative fee arrangements