Six things modern GCs really want from their law firms 

From his background in major BigLaw firms and General Counsel, now turned independent consultant to law departments and law firms, Steven Walker contributes ‘Six things modern GCs really want from their law firms‘ as the first of a series of posts on Dialogue.

Reputation trumps price say most GCs

Earlier this year Validatum published a blog entitled ‘We’re more expensive than them because we are better than them’.

The blog began with my observation that although there are clearly exceptions, it is well understood by most law firm marketing and BD specialists, if not so much by partners, that for the most part, technical ability is not a differentiator in the eyes of clients. And even if it is a differentiator in a specific situation, claims of superiority tend to be viewed by clients as little more than hyperbole and lacking any kind of proof.

A strange finding on the use of NewLaw providers by BigLaw firms

A strange finding on the use of NewLaw providers by BigLaw firms focuses a seeming omission in the 2016 Alternative Legal Service (ALS) Study by the Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute, Georgetown University’s Law Center for the Study of the Legal Profession and Oxford’s Saïd Business School.

Signs of the times: The rise of managed legal services

This month I am delighted to welcome Catherine J. (CJ) Moynihan as a contributor to Dialogue. As a senior director of legal management services at the Association of Corporate Counsel,  she is the subject matter expert on managing the legal function, legal spending, and the ACC Value Challenge. Catherine has many and special perspectives on changes in the legal services supply chain, especially those being driven by clients.

tl;dr – a Primer on Managing External Legal Providers

Legal marketing spend is up, so is client dissatisfaction. Now what?

Competition for corporate legal work is keen, writes Mark Cohen in Forbes in April.

Law firms vie with each other for a shrinking segment of outsourced legal work. Corporate legal departments and a growing array of well capitalized, tech and process savvy service providers now account for an almost 50% of legal spend. It’s not surprising, then, that law firms are stepping up investment in marketing and business development activities. Will this narrow the growing delta between rising demand for legal services and declining call for law firms? Short answer: not unless law firms address the myriad of reasons for client dissatisfaction as well as differentiate themselves.