“Value from external advisers can be dependent on the quality of instruction from General Counsel.” I agree with this quote from the Executive Summary for “Leading the Way to Value in Legal Services,” a recent report issued by Global Leaders in Law (See my post of Dec. 2, 2008: formation of Global Leaders in Law.).
If in-side counsel were strict in their instructions, if they carefully defined what they want done by the firm and in what manner and with what deliverable, the firm that conforms to the instructions should be deemed to have delivered value. It did what the client told it to do.
If the value falls short of the client’s expectations, it either means the firm didn’t follow clear instructions or the client held from inflated or unrealistic expectations.