Law Office (Legal Spend Management)

 

• Initiated data analytics for tracking all costs in a corporate law department, to analyze spending trends and then attempt to determine how to reduce spend without sacrificing quality.

 

• Use of legal spend management software platforms for strategic planning, such as cost comparisons between in-house lawyers and outside counsel, deciding whether to outsource certain legal matters, deciding whether to settle a potential lawsuit or litigate, establishing key performance indicators (KPIs), monthly budget projections.

 

• Useful KPIs include accounts payable, alternate fee arrangements (AFAs), automatic legal bill review, billing guidelines and requirements specified for all outside counsel alike, detailed cost benchmarking, detailed case budgeting, fees specified in engagement letters, legal project management tracking, monthly external spend and rate reports, monthly internal spend and rate reports, new timekeeper and matter processes, panel convergence (the process of creating panels of preferred provider firms and setting appropriate rates through comprehensive specifications), prioritizing tasks and strategic legal objectives using a critical path model, request for proposal (RFP) and request of qualifications (RFQ) processes, timekeeper rate negotiations process, use of alternative fees and discounts, unbundling (identifying distinct legal tasks that can be separated and completed individually) and realigning various aspects of case work.

 

• Established outside counsel guidelines (OCGs) related to billing and reporting, specifying a matrix of tasks that could be reported on invoices, with related codes and fee rules

 

• Established a decision tree for quick analysis of invoices submitted by various timekeepers, including whether the invoice rates were within a certain percentage of past rates submitted by the timekeeper, the current market rates from other law firms in the same geographical region, and the rates for work of the same complexity.

 

• Provided specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-sensitive (SMART) recommendations to management regarding billing practices and invoice management.

 

• Recommendation for an all-electronic billing platform preferably with support for the legal electronic data exchange standard (LEDES).

 

• Researched, evaluated, tested, recommended, procured and used many legal spend management platforms such as AbacusLaw, AccountEdge Pro, Actionstep, Aderant Expert Sierra, Amicus Online, Avaza, Amberlo, Bill4Time, Case Master Pro, CaseFox, Clio, CosmoLex, Easy Legal Billing, Elevate, Essential, Filevine, Firm Central, HoudiniESQ, Iridium BI, Law Ruler, Lawcus, LawPay, LEAP, LeanLaw, LegalEdge, LegalLeaf, LegalTrek, MerusCase, Mitratech, MyCase, Needles Case Management, PCLaw, PracticePanther Legal, ProTempus, Rippe & Kingston Legal Management Software, Rocket Matter, RTG Bills, SmartAdvocate, Smokeball, Soluno, Tabs3, Timeslips Converter, TimeSolv Legal, Zola Suite.

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    Last updated 200731_1041