Nine insights a general counsel might share if invited to speak at a law firm’s partner retreat

Many general counsel are invited to speak at retreats of their primary firms. Here are some topics that will bring value to the partners and derivative value to the law department.

1. Myths likely held by the law firm about the law department
2. How frequently and by what means the law department picks law firms
3. How many law firms the department retains, and what accounts for that number of firms
4. What goes through the mind of an inside attorney when reviewing bills
5. Sources of tension in billing (what irks us about law-firm billing practices)
6. Views on the relative strengths of outside counsel compared to inside counsel
7. Explicit examples of superior service and inferior service
8. Attitudes of company executives about outside counsel and spending on them
9. Data on outside counsel spending provided to the finance function and senior executives.