Understanding the Lawyer-Client Relationship

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Rolf McLaughlin
10 years ago
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1 Understanding the Lawyer-Client Relationship Presented by: Risa Schwartz Head of Knowledge Management Cisco Systems, Inc. Elizabeth Broderick Partner Blake Dawson Waldron Connie Hoffman Director, Client Technology Group Bryan Cave LLP Dena Rafte Chief Executive Officer Rafte & Company

Elizabeth Broderick Partner Blake Dawson Waldron Connie Hoffman

2 Learning Objectives Understand the pressures inherent in the modern lawyer-client relationship Identify the role that technology can play in strengthening and making more intimate lawyerclient relationships.

Identify the role that technology can play in

3 The Changing Lawyer-Client Relationship From The State of Technology in the Law A speech given by Mark Chandler, Cisco Senior Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel "Letters from law firms telling me how much billing rates are going up next year are totally irrelevant to me, or as we say in Silicon Valley, orthogonal to my concerns. Think about it: not one of the CIOs of your firms expects to get a letter from Cisco explaining how much more our products will cost next year. And not one of our suppliers comes to us to tell us how much their prices will go up next year. So from my perspective, I don't care what billing rates are. I care about productivity and outputs."

concerns. Think about it: not one of the CIOs of your firms expects to get a letter from Cisco explaining how much more our products will cost next year.

4 The CLARION Call "Put bluntly, the most fundamental misalignment of interests is between clients who are driven to manage expenses, and law firms which are compensated by the hour. The greatest vulnerability of the legal industry today is a failure to make information more accessible to clients, to drive models based on value and efficiency. The present system is leading to unhappy lawyers and unhappy clients. The center will not hold."

The greatest vulnerability of the legal industry today is a failure to make information more accessible to

5 Signs of Change In-house counsel are now often subject to the same budgetary and goal-setting constraints that are applied to the other divisions within their companies. They are passing those pressures on to their lawyers. Emerging practices: RFPs Shrinking law-firm panels Extraordinary fee pressure Risk sharing agreements Flat-fee pricing Other phenomena Initiatives like Legal OnRamp Active ACC consideration of subjects like Associate Comp Client consortia (e.g., The Consortium)

Emerging practices: RFPs Shrinking law-firm panels Extraordinary fee pressure Risk sharing agreements Flat-fee pricing

6 Price Pressure Drives Innovation Pricing innovation flat-fee fees based on deal size Web-based Delivery of Legal Services e-training and decision tree applications litigation databases specialty databases and work-flow tools due diligence data rooms Convergence of specialty practices into bigger practices with broad spectrum of legal services

litigation databases specialty databases and work-flow tools due diligence data rooms

7 Case study 1: Salt

8 salt 1 to many legal offering Highly scalable (19 countries, 7 languages, > 100,000 users) Will support all languages with exception of Hebrew and Arabic Annuity stream business Subscription based Increases distribution channel - salt SME

languages with exception of Hebrew and Arabic Annuity

9 salt home page

10 salt home page

11 salt reporting

12 Case study 2: Virtual Lawyer

13 Virtual Lawyer TM Advertising Business Problem Solution Marketing Department Marketing Department Online Legal Expert System Legal Sign Off Legal Sign Off PRODUCT PRODUCT

14 New Levels of Legal Service Faster Turnaround Time 24/7 Legal Advice Worldwide Access to Legal Services Early Problem Identification Documentary Evidence of Compliance Lawyers Focused on Complex Issues

Services Early Problem Identification Documentary

15 Case study 3: Specialty Databases

16 Non-Traditional Delivery of Legal Services Problem: keeping track of agreements related to large number of dispersed subsidiaries Solution: database to manage subsidiaries licensing information by state

large number of dispersed subsidiaries Solution:

17 Non-Traditional Delivery of Legal Services Problem: valuation of leases in advance of impending asset transaction Solution: work-flow tool and database to deliver information concerning lease obligations on the fly

transaction Solution: work-flow tool and database to

18 Non-Traditional Delivery of Legal Services Problem: valuation of leases in advance of asset transaction Solution: work-flow tool and database to deliver information concerning lease obligations on the fly

transaction Solution: work-flow tool and database

19 Case study 5: Enhancing the Due Diligence Process

20 Going Beyond the Data Room Summary views of due diligence reports for quick retrieval Ability to submit reports from remote locations

21 Going Beyond the Data Room Real-time status reports of due diligence process Who What When

22 Going Beyond the Data Room Searchable database for quick retrieval Online access to all relevant materials

23 How Can Technology Help? Competition tools Analytics Planning Tracking Relationship-enhancing tools Loss prevention, compliance training (e.g. S.A.L.T.) Communications extranets, secure communications Client intimacy measures Interactive project management Improved billing Interactive reporting Tailoring relationship to how client works Out-of-the-box solutions Solutions to business problems (e.g. spectrum management, claims management, etc.) New business models (BCIT, S.A.L.T., consulting)

24 What do we need to focus on in the smaller firms? Standards created for the firm/practice group not the individual Information dynamically accessible inside and outside the firm Delivery of work product faster & more efficiently Attorneys focused on practicing law Better staff leverage Significant competitive differentiators

25 The Challenge is To make it easier for the client to do business with you

The ACC Value Challenge

The ACC Value Challenge Reconnecting Cost with Value www.acc.com/valuechallenge Frederick J. Krebs, President, ACC Timothy Corcoran, Senior Consultant, Altman Weil, Inc. Constance Hoffman, CIO, Bryan Cave