Home > Outside Counsel > Unbelievable! Legal departments don’t expect action from law firms, just “open discussions”
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Unbelievable! Legal departments don’t expect action from law firms, just “open discussions”

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An article by the president of BTI Consulting, published in Strategies, Vol. 11, Sept. 2009 at 6, lists as one of “five new client priorities law firms can leverage to build business” a notion very strange to me and my clients: “Discussing alternative fees is more important than adopting alternative-fee arrangements.”

Did I read that correctly? Talk counts more than action? Yes, because “Clients place high value on a firm willing to simply open a discussion regarding alternative billing arrangements.”

Is this view cynical? Is this hypocritical of law firm partners? Is it sound advice to law firms? “Regardless of implementation, open discussions on alternative billing demonstrate a law firm’s understanding of the client. Wrong, completely wrong. Open discussions don’t reduce costs; changed behavior and smaller invoices reduce costs.

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2 responses to “Unbelievable! Legal departments don’t expect action from law firms, just “open discussions””

  1. Janette Levey Frisch says:
    September 23, 2009 at 4:04 pm

    I am sure I am not the only one who sees the irony: If outside counsel can sell the idea that discussion matters more than action, they have got it made. They can look and sound like they are receptive to meeting the client’s needs and cutting costs —-and they might even be able to bill for the discussions!

  2. Richard Parsons says:
    September 23, 2009 at 9:52 pm

    Mmmm. “Open discussions don’t reduce costs; changed behavior and smaller invoices reduce costs.” This is true, of course.
    But clients asking about alternative fees is about more than reducing costs, and its a tactical and strategic mistake to just start wheeling out smaller invoices. Clients look for deeper relationships with people who can enhance their business. Preparedness to discuss and demonstrable understanding of value sharing on a variety of different models is what clients have to do with their own customers, and appreciate it in their lawyers. And when the received value is higher, price is less of an issue. The billable hour is far from dead.
    Lawyers that can’t have the frank discussions may start discounting now…