Category: Enterprise Legal Management

Doubtless, you’ve heard the story that broke earlier this week. Amazon is proposing to deliver your orders by drones, which has sparked off an immense wave of commentary that includes everything from law enforcement complications to if the octocopters will deliver tacos to an Amazon drone Twitter feed.

The concept of flying machinery darting around the city in order to drop boxes at your doorstep is a complex one to get your head around. After all, there’s nothing quite like that happening now. And there are worries about their level of reliability and public safety as well as privacy concerns.  

But the basic idea of drone delivery is intriguing simply because it takes a complex problem – mass logistics and order fulfillment – and offers a new perspective on it. So much of the fulfillment process is automated. Is it possible to automate the actual delivery itself? How the process be streamlined to significantly cut the time traditionally associated with delivery?

Here at Onit, we took a good long look at processes that bog corporations down – everything from contract review and approval to legal process outsourcing to employee onboarding – and focused on how they could be improved from both a time and cost perspective.  How can we introduce easy collaboration capabilities that are both useful AND used? How can we automate extremely manual tasks such as document routing or review? How can we cut time spent herding cats (because – let’s face it – no matter how important the task sometimes, that can be what you feel like you are doing) in order to complete the project? What can we do to help refocus your time to more strategic contributions?

Well, it starts with a Smart Process App.

Below is a list of resources that speak to the successes our clients have realized with our Smart Process Apps including the challenges they faced and how they overcame them. Feel free to browse through them. If you’d like to bypass that and go immediately to our Smart Process Apps demo, you can request one here.

On-Demand Webinar

• Case Study: How Johnson Controls Regained Control of Their Quote and Approval Contract Process

White Papers

• A New Approach to Contract Management
• The End of An Era:  Evolving Beyond Email and Spreadsheets to Manage Your Law Department
• White Paper: Strategic Process Management: Improve Client Service & Operational Effectiveness with Onit App Builder

According to a recent survey of 71 law departments, legal spend is expected to increase, the use of alternative fee arrangements will continue to grow and ethics and compliance is now rated as the highest priority in 2013.

The crux of the survey examines how law departments combine numerous processes, practices and technologies in order to create a smarter working environment (along with smarter results.) Positioned by Huron Legal as “a comprehensive management program,” successful corporate law departments leverage a mixture of the following items to nurture more efficient (and cost-saving) operations:

• Defined panels and/or pre-approved lists for sourcing
• Regular budget reviews
• Matter-level budgets
• Alternative fee arrangements
• Matter management and e-billing technology

According to the survey results, law departments that used this mix realized 30 percent lower total legal spend as a percent of company revenue.

The surveyed law departments hailed from companies with revenues from $5 million to $89 billion. Operations on that size are consistently challenged with complex processes that need proper technological support. Even a “simple” process such as finalizing a contract can turn into a nightmare when you factor in reviewers from multiple organizations or departments, numerous versions of the contract and several review cycles – all which normally relies on tools such as Outlook or Excel to track it.

The right technology, such as a flexible, scalable, light-weight Smart Process App, can more easily support a law department’s path to more efficient and budget-compliant operations than enterprise-level software implementations.

You don’t have to watch Looper, Terminator or Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure to know that the future can be a tricky thing to predict. Even trends as close as two decades away can be difficult to see.

Think on this:

• Thirty years ago, you could find a typewriter in every office.
• Twenty years ago, we were figuring out this thing called the World Wide Web. (Remember dialing in?)
• Ten years ago, mobile phones – the kind with basic calling and texting capabilities only – became a widespread phenomenon.
• Now, mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets and applications allow us to work and play from almost anywhere.

Now, the International Legal Technology Association has launched an initiative to discover how technology and the way legal organizations use it will develop. This includes providing long-term insights into legal technology strategies for the next 10-15 years such as:

• Defining key driving forces shaping business and the legal profession
• Identifying a likely timeline of IT developments
• Examining how IT advancements can be leveraged to help enable and enhance tomorrow’s legal organizations

If you’d like to contribute to the study, ILTA invites you to answer two surveys:

• Business applications survey: http://s.zoomerang.com/s/futurehorizons
• Timelines survey: http://s.zoomerang.com/s/ILTAEmergingTech

The interim results will be covered in a keynote presentation during ILTA’s annual conference in Las Vegas. It features Rohit Talwar of Fast Future Research Ltd., who will also discuss the future of legal IT and highlight how law firms can leverage emerging technologies coupled with new paradigm thinking to change everything from firm strategies and business models to the way tomorrow’s lawyer is recruited, developed and rewarded.

The landscape of business and the technology that supports it is constantly changing. Already, legal organizations and corporate legal departments are trending away from enterprise-wide solutions to flexible, light-weight applications that can readily support their changing business processes and priorities. The legal organization that thrived 20 years ago operates very differently today and doubtless will continue to evolve as it works to accommodate the needs of its clients.

We’ll share more information on this study as it progresses.

We’ve all seen those offices – the offices with more paper than the Library of Congress. Folders perched on desk tops, piled high and proudly defying gravity. Stacks of paper poke out from inboxes. The trash bin is choked with cast off drafts and shelves sag under paper weight.

The people that own this office will look at you and say, “I have a system.”

They probably do. But how quickly can they track down pertinent information when its data is spread across multiple files on multiple pages in multiple locations?  Can they easily access the big picture? Can they surf the paper waves quickly enough to report on budget performance for a particular legal matter, grab the absolutely latest version of a document or ascertain the status of an important task assigned to a team member?

The right App can take all the information that exists on reams of paper and make it meaningful, insightful and accessible from your smartphone or desktop. Because if you don’t have the right tools for matter management, you may end up like … well, this woman.

Click here to schedule a demo today.

Anyone who grew up watching PBS or has kids will probably recognize the Sesame Street jingle “One of these things is not like the others.” The song preceded a visual of several things and the adults would dare the muppets to find the one that doesn’t match.

So here’s our own version of One of These Things is Not like the Other:

1. Lawyer: I love contracts.
2. Sourcing manager: I love contracts.
3. Salesperson: I love contracts.

Did you spot the item that doesn’t belong? Here’s a hint: It isn’t a lawyer or sourcing manager.

Sure, contracts mean the completion of a successful sales effort and a new client. But most sales people would argue that they’d prefer to be working towards new contracts as opposed to being mired in the administration-level efforts of tracking the progress of several existing ones, coordinating with internal stakeholders and pounding the pavement for the most updated copy.

That’s where Onit comes in. With the Onit ReviewAI and Approval App, sales managers can easily get a contract reviewed and approved. This means:

1. A quicker sales cycle
2. Automated handling of review and approval from inception to close
3. Advanced and automated notice for contract renewals
4. Enhanced insight into contract performance and intelligence
5. Improved communications with clients and external parties throughout the process

Let’s see how this sales manager did it.

When corporate legal departments shut down at night, I bet Excel and Outlook catch up. They poke their iconized heads out of computer screens, look both ways, step out slowly and start gossiping. The conversation probably goes something like this:

Excel: Did you see my latest spreadsheet? One thousand lines tracking the contract for the new client. I’m working on blinding the attorney cell by cell.

Outlook: Totally saw that in her in-box. Five hundred emails about it and counting!

[Cue the maniacal laugh from them both.]

So maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but if you’re a lawyer in a corporate legal department this conversation may strike a chord. You may spend all day drafting, negotiating and executing licensing and contract agreements. Hey, it’s your job to minimize risk and exposure. You turn to the tools to help you accomplish this and coordinate with the necessary departments to finalize the contracts be it sales, IT, HR, sourcing etc. But while it is natural to turn to everyday tools such as Excel, Outlook or even a collaborative tool, your old friends may fail you when it comes to handling this process.

For one, they’re not efficient. Chances are you’ve seen an uptick in the amount of contracts coming in the door. And chances are your company has had staff reductions. Doing more with fewer resources demands that the correct tools are introduced for efficiency’s sake. What tools are you currently using for contract review? Do they help eliminate confusions such as which version is the most current or if it reflects the customer’s requirements? Can you easily pinpoint where you are in the process?

Also consider that manual processes can’t provide contract transparency. Less transparency equals greater risk. The review process is often too complex in today’s corporations to be accurately recorded with manual processes. This means important questions such as “Where is that contract?, “How long has it been there?” and “Is the correct party reviewing it?” – are difficult to answer. Manual processes, such as tracking with email or spreadsheets, break down the contract automation and management process. This means your company is vulnerable to more risks for errors and control gaps that slow down or sideline contract review.

So what tool do you need? Is it time to go to enterprise systems?

Not so fast. That’s a natural progression of thought, but remember that enterprise solutions are often hard to alter or update, normally don’t scale well and require extensive dependence on IT. With the best of intentions that enterprise solutions offer, often its characteristics impede the process more than aid it.

So what’s the right-sized solution for this challenge? Let’s see what Susan has done.

Law firms love AFAs. They love them because they make more money using them. Why else would a law firm actively bid on work using AFAs?

How are law firms profiting from AFAs? It’s simple. Strong AFA-oriented firms – regardless of size or specialty – have the data. They know how long projects take, how many personnel are required and the most efficient ways to execute. And they can mine that data across many matters and multiple industries. Additionally, because law firms are still capturing time entries from their staff, they can continually monitor the effectiveness of their AFAs and tweak their “input” costs accordingly if they are at risk of losing money.

Corporate legal departments are at a disadvantage because they likely don’t have the data to inform structuring an AFA and they certainly don’t get the “input” cost data from the law firms to monitor the effectiveness of the AFA from a cost perspective. From a purely cost-focused point of view, to enter into AFA negotiations without data and metrics around necessary resources and time is like going to a negotiation unprepared. The cards are stacked against the corporate legal department before the negotiations begin.

However, there is a way to help level the playing field and it’s pretty simple.

Request a shadow bill.

A shadow bill is exactly what it sounds like: A duplicate copy of the hours that the law firm staff spent on your project. I know that this is controversial, but making sure both parties have the data is the only fair way for AFAs to be entered into and maintained.

These bills are often circulated internally in a law firm so there may be an initial resistance to sharing them with a client. From a corporate perspective, requesting a shadow bill is the ONLY way you’ll be able to analyze the true value you are getting from the AFA. Moreover, law firms have the technology and processes in place that make this a simple task on their side.

Clarity of Results

Now imagine the clarity that ensues when both parties come to the table with a shared understanding of AFA-related results and costs. It extends beyond cost-controlling measures to create stronger ties between in-house and outside counsel – ties that can be used to create mutually beneficial results. In fact, cost savings are only the beginning.

One of the key benefits from AFAs is being able to share in the financial risks. In some instances (depending on the type of AFA – see below), law firms reap the rewards when a certain goal is attained. When alternative fee arrangements focus on results with the emphasis away from the billable hour, lawyers are rewarded for efficiency. AFAs also provide another important benefit to legal departments – clarity of future costs. Having the ability to mine data from other legal cases or matters is a huge incentive when trying to predict future legal spend. Shadow bills provide this transparency of legal spend.

Let’s look at an example. A case settled in mediation might net a law firm a tidy profit under an AFA structure – one that would not be reflected in an hourly structure. But balance this against an AFA-billed case that might have unexpected turns and the arrangement may work in the corporate legal department’s favor.

Shadow bills are the only way to level the AFA-playing field for law firms and corporate legal departments. Get started today. Request a shadow bill from your law firm and start managing your legal department like a business.

Beyond the Billable Hour

Below are some of the common alternatives to hourly billing:

• Fixed-fee or Flat Rate – An agreed-upon sum for handling a matter or a defined portion of a case.

• Capped Fee – An hourly rate, but the client is promised the total billing will not exceed a predetermined amount

• Discounted Hourly – A reduced hourly rate, often tied to a high volume or extended to major clients

• Blended Hourly – A uniform hourly rate averaged among the partner, associate and support staff rates

• Project Billing – A flat fee agreed upon in advance, for handing a specific project
  

• Incentive Billing – A fixed fee, established at the outset, with an incentive bonus if the law firm obtains specific results

• Modified Contingency – A reduce hourly rate with additional compensation depending on the outcome of a matter

• Defense Contingency or Negative Contingency – Defense attorney’s compensation is totally or partially dependent upon the outcome of a matter

• Hybrid Arrangements – Any billing method that combines two or more alternatives

Want to Learn More?

Take a look at the articles and surveys below to see why alternative fee arrangements are becoming so popular.

Articles

• June 2, 2011 – Above the Law – Inside Straight: Alternative Fee Agreements For Beginners

• May 31, 2011 – The Globe and Mail – Lawyers Finding New Ways to Get Paid

• May 24, 2011 – Attorney at Work – Planning for Flat-Fee Billing

• March 22, 2011 – Adam Smith, Esq blog – A Modest Proposal for Alternative Fees

• March 21, 2011 – 3 Geeks & a Law Blog – The Value of Non-Lawyers in Client Fee Conversations

• Feb. 23, 2011 – FindLaw – Alternative Fee Agreements Gaining Popularity

• Feb. 14, 2011 – The National Law Journal – Alternative Fees Are Not the Enemy

• January 19, 2011 – LegalBizDev – Why Alternative Fee Revenues Will Keep Going Up

ACC Value Challenge

• October 2010 – Elevator Pitch: How Can Value–“Based Fee Structures Help Us

• February 2010 – ACC Value Challenge Brief

• July 2010 – ACC Value-Based Fee Primer

2010 Surveys

• BTI Premium Practices Forecast 2010: Survey of Corporate Legal Spending

• Fulbright’s 7^th Annual Litigation Trends Survey Report

• Inside Counsel Third Annual Law Department Operations Survey (Link no longer live)

• ALM Report : Law Firms and Alternative Fee Arrangements