Legal Commentary

If Not Now, ....(well, why waste a great quote)?

By Patrick J. Lamb

Altman Weil has released the results of its 2009 Chief Legal Officer Survey.  To my mind, the most telling result is this:

The survey asked Chief Legal Officers (CLOs) to rate how much pressure corporations are putting on law firms to change the value proposition in legal service delivery, as opposed to simply cutting costs. CLOs responded across the board, with 25% rating the pressure as high – or between 8 and 10 on a zero to 10 scale; 37% rating the pressure in the mid-range at 5, 6 or 7; and 38% rating it low, between zero and 4.

However, when asked how serious law firms are about changing their delivery model, the answers were in sharp contrast. Only 5% of CLOs assessed law firms as highly serious, scoring them between 8 and 10. Twenty percent gave firms credit for some level of effort, rating them 5, 6 or 7. A full 75% rated law firms between zero and 4 on the scale, indicating little or no interest in change.

Wait, did I read that right?  "A full 75% of the CLOs rated law firms between zero and 4 on the scale, indicating little or no interest in change."  How is that possible?  CLO's put maximum pressure on their law firms and law firms don't respond.  NEWS FLASH to law firms not responding: IT'S TIME TO WAKE UP!

Full post as published by In Search of Perfect Client Service on June 30, 2009 (boomark / email).