Solicitors Regulation Authority consultation on price and other information

Through his research, Richard Moorhead, Professor of Law and Professional Ethics at University College London Faculty of Laws, provides deep and original insights into lawyers and the practice of law. Dialogue is privileged to feature Richard as a contributor. In his first contribution, Richard examines the issues of the price transparency of lawyers’ services from a policy perspective.  

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Posted by on Jan 10, 2018 in Pricing, Regulation | 0 comments

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.

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Posted by on Nov 21, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Law departments, Pricing | 0 comments

“We’ll have a chat at the end” – a $20B black hole

We lawyers detest talking about our fees with our clients, yet analysis suggests this is leaving a $20B black hole in the revenue of BigLaw firms.

Richard Burcher’s firm, Validatum, has worked with over 300 law firms in 18 countries and if there is one common denominator he observes, it is a shared perspective that the price conversation is the most unpalatable and stressful aspect of the lawyer/client relationship.

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Posted by on Oct 3, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Pricing | 0 comments

Price. Price. Price.

As in real estate with position, so in law, the top three challenges facing law firms are all price related (1):

1. Negotiating price with clients (Price)

2. Winning new business (Price is a key element)

3. Competing with other firms (Price is a key element).

When we talk to firms in other professions, we hear the same story. Even in consulting engineering, where the demand side is the strongest in years and resourcing are a challenge, firm leaders tell us there is still big price-down pressure.

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Posted by on Sep 19, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Pricing | 3 comments

Hourly billing is accurate, transparent and ethical. Really?

With “Hourly billing is accurate, transparent and ethical” John Chisholm demonstrates why he is regarded by many of his colleagues as an important iconoclast.

John writes: Recently an Oldlaw* partner told me that while a small minority of lawyers may have abused time-based billing, overall hourly billing is “good” because it is “…accurate, transparent and ethical“.

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Posted by on Jul 13, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Pricing | 0 comments

When it comes to pricing BigLaw’s services, play off the front foot or perish

When it comes to pricing BigLaw’s services, play off the front foot or perish is contributed by Richard Burcher, the intrepid Kiwi based in London and a world leader in pricing BigLaw’s services. Richard’s post has three core messages.

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Posted by on May 4, 2017 in BigLaw firms, Clients, Pricing | 0 comments