Law Department Management Blog
According to the European Company Lawyers Association website, “In the US there are about a dozen companies offering on line selection services of law firms. In Europe the choice is limited to London based First Law www.firstlaw.com and Legal BenchMarket International B.V. (“LBI”) www.legalbenchmarket.com in The Hague.”
The ECLA describes First Law as mainly active in the UK where it conducts an in-depth analysis of the legal aspects of the matter, assigns a professional agent (the case manager) who not only selects but also monitors the legal work from start to finish. Fees are generally paid by the law firm.
Legal BenchMarket is mainly active on the continent (> 15 countries). LBI does not divulge the identity of the client until the short list selection is complete, so that law firms submit bids on the work described in a Request For Proposal and cannot take into account the attractiveness of the client, hence there can be no “reputation billing” or low-ball bidding. Legal BenchMarket’s fee is always paid by the client and is a percentage of the realized savings against a pre-agreed benchmark.
If any readers know about the US companies that provide similar services, I would appreciate your e-mailing me.