“Addressing the
Disconnect”
The ACC Value Challenge
Reconnecting Cost with Value
July 21, 2009
ACC NE Chapter - AM Leadership Discussion
Susan Hackett, ACC
A (r)evolution
in legal service provision
The disconnect / discontent in-house counsel wish to
address is the result of behaviors they have not only
enabled, but often are responsible for creating.
This does not excuse poor business structures in firms,
but expected changes have to be rewarded
The law firm market is headed for seismic change / inhouse departments must manage toward the change
Underlying the Disconnect
• Lawyers in law departments work in a business
environment where productivity, lean efficiency, cost
predictability, innovation, and risk-taking are
rewarded; legal expertise is important, but secondary.
• Lawyers in law firms work in a “professional” culture
that values legal expertise over everything else,
minimizes risk and discourages innovation, and
rewards less efficient, less team-oriented, less
outcome-focused players.
• And most in-house counsel retain them anyway.
What clients want
Themes from the regional sessions (2008-9)
• Better management; lean efficiency (two-way)
• Certainty / predictability
• Focus on outcomes and results, not just on process and
analysis: driven by performance/metrics
• Costs and fee structures that equate with value received
• Horses for courses: at entry, and thru better staffing/teams
• KM and applied expertise – don’t reinvent the wheel
• Outside counsel and firms whose motivations and business
model are aligned with the client’s – shared risk
What firms need clients to consider …
• Better articulation of expectations, workplans, and
budgets up-front
• A return to long-term trust and continuity (versus reliance on
RFPs, audits, etc.)
• Institutionalized relationships that support the
commitment firms need to make to drive alignment
• Reward firms that demonstrate value/innovate
• Reconsider the impact of the in-house mantras:
“No one ever got fired for hiring [Insert BigLaw Firm Name].”
“Hire the lawyer and not the firm.”
In the end,
it’s all about value.
“Value” topics for discussion
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How can we improve? How do we drive the message (or not)?
Does decreased cost to clients = decreased profit for the firm?
How will clients assure adequate work flow so outside lawyers are
better aligned and incented toward efficiency?
How can junior lawyers get trained, more reasonably priced, more on
the front line, with less turnover? What leverage level works?
What is the lawyers’ highest contribution: how do we drive that?
How can we better budget, and manage costs and staffing?
How do we align comp, incentives, & staffing with client interests?
How do we create sustainable practices for profitable law firms?
How do we evaluate progress and performance? What is success?
How do we create a culture of continuous improvement?