Responding to Client Calls for Value

Legal services purchasing power has shifted to a highly sophisticated, business savvy, and now frustrated client group, heralding the possibility of groundbreaking changes in the way that law firms and their clients interact. Today, clients appear to be gaining ground in calling upon law firms to step-up and deliver “value.” Three demand-related factors are driving this market shift. First, corporate boards (and for private companies, CFOs and other executive leaders) recognize that legal costs far outweigh any other expense of the business, and are placing growing emphasis on reducing legal spend; second, increased competition is driving down costs; and third, technological advances now provide tools that enable improved service delivery. The buyer is well educated and readily expecting law firms to respond with efficient, high-quality, cost-effective services.

One clear example of this client-driven call for change is provided by the Association of Corporate Counsel's (“ACC”) Value Challenge, a growing resource base and source of dialogue for corporate clients and law firms. [ACC is a 25,000-member strong constituency of in-house counsel (5,000 of whom are the highest-ranking legal officer of their companies.)] The focus of the ACC Value Challenge surrounds the concept of “reconnecting costs with value” by supporting improved relationships and service delivery between corporate clients and their legal service providers. Support for and involvement in the Value Challenge appears to be increasing, as the current buyer's market forces firms to take client concerns more seriously than ever before.