Save on services: average renewal by a vendor offers a discount of 4 to 6 percent

An article in Law Practice, May/June 2010 at 18, describes six ways a legal department might squeeze some savings out of its support services. As examples of support services, think of legal research, subscription management, trademark renewals, bulk photocopying, shredding, and travel expenses as targets of these techniques.

The second tip on the list is to select vendors through RFPs. The author, Rob Mattern of Mattern & Associates, writes that “the average renewal by a vendor offers a discount of 4 to 6 percent while a competitive process can mean a savings of 12 to 22 percent – often with much improved terms.”

Many legal departments do not spend enough or regularly enough on external support services to justify the effort of an RFP or their company’s procurement function leads the way. True, but even a slight nod to competitive bids can save money.