A Value Proposition Aided by Technology

With more than 25 lawyers, 18 paralegals, and various administrative staff that span across seven locations, Rockwell Automation's in-house legal team was an early adopter of legal technology and implemented e-billing for all of its outside counsel firms.

As the company searched for a national counsel to handle its ongoing asbestos litigation cases, it was adamant that the winning firm had to be different. The firm had to embrace technology, data, metrics and accountability. Rockwell's national asbestos counsel had to have a common understanding of success (including mutually beneficial alternative fee arrangements (AFAs)), consistent and open dialogs to forge trust, and the commitment to demonstrate results using actual metrics and data. Enter Tucker Ellis LLP.

Tucker Ellis, with more than 160 attorneys across five locations, was an early adopter of technology, and created a practice that relies on that data to optimize client relationships and fee arrangements. In fact, more than 50% of the firm's fee revenue in each of past three years has been through AFAs. Rockwell has only been in business 10 years, but it knew early on that one of the key ingredients to make a new foray into delivering legal services was to invest in technology. Rockwell's philosophy is that data is the most important shared resource between client and law firm. This commitment was a key factor in Rockwell's selection process, and Tucker Ellis was ultimately selected and retained because of its acumen for using technology.

Keeping the Relationship Honest

Because the firm and the client share a mutual desire for data, it's been easy for Rockwell to measure the success of its decision to go with Tucker Ellis. Using data from the year prior to establishing a relationship with Tucker Ellis as a baseline, Rockwell was able to determine that its outside legal fees for its national counsel for asbestos litigation decreased dramatically. In fact, it dropped by nearly 60%, despite the fact that the number of case numbers increased. This point underscores the success of the two companies' joint commitment to AFAs. At Tucker Ellis, the data is the underlining key to its fee structure, but what makes the relationship with Rockwell work is a desire and willingness to share risk and to partner with each other. Tucker Ellis' fee structure is designed to provide Rockwell with cost security, but it also incentivizes the team to manage Rockwell's litigation efficiently.

Not only did Rockwell bring Tucker Ellis into the selection process when considering Bridgeway Software, but it also decided to integrate the firm into the application.

Establishing a client-counsel relationship based on AFAs is no easy task, but Rockwell and Tucker Ellis have such a unified commitment to success ' underpinned by trust ' they actually started using a pre-cap allocated fee arrangement from the onset. Of course, as the client Rockwell welcomed the arrangement, but one would think the outside counsel might have reservations. Not so with Tucker Ellis. Because of the technology, the valuable data it provides, and the level of trust between our two companies, it is very comfortable for Tucker Ellis to work with AFAs and fee caps with a bonus; in fact, they actually work to the firm's advantage. The success factor here is attributed to the level of detail in the billing information, which actually goes beyond simple billing data. Trends and other business intelligence have enabled Rockwell and Tucker Ellis to track what-if scenarios, local and national trends on spend, increases and decreases in case disposition, cost per disposition, etc., and then apply that intelligence to make better business decisions.

For example, with Tucker Ellis as Rockwell's national counsel, the two companies are able to share insightful data that can determine specific case loads in various local offices, trends on various outcomes, and which jurisdictions were the most costly. In order to be successful, Tucker Ellis knew as the outside firm it was imperative to really understand its client and the success factors involved. Tucker Ellis spent a lot of time learning what makes Rockwell happy and what makes the firm profitable ' and it couldn't have done that without reliable data and analysis.

Shared Risk and Partnership

Sharing risk may sound like a lofty, unrealistic goal, but when done correctly and with the right partner the results can set the stage for a new model of client-counsel success. For the team at Rockwell, it's all about delivering better results for less spend and having the ability to get solid data to make sound decisions. The collective, innovative use of AFAs has enabled it to meet this goal and achieve a better balance of risk between outside counsel and client. Although Tucker Ellis is Rockwell's leading vendor in outside spend, the e-billing process is so efficient and reliable that it has moved to quarterly invoices, which really eases the amount of time and effort it takes to manage the budget. As a result of the consistency and reliability of the shared data and solid reporting and analysis, Rockwell also moved out its annual account review with Tucker Ellis to a biannual basis. The bottom line is that Rockwell gets the data it needs when it needs it. Rockwell is a data-driven group, and while some decisions are still based on gut feelings, it can now back it up with data and intelligence from both its internal staff and from Tucker Ellis.

For the Tucker Ellis group serving the Rockwell account, it's about providing the client with as much cost certainty as possible, sharing the data in a way that eliminates surprises, and establishing the right incentives that quell any doubts on perceived value. Rockwell and Tucker Ellis have been working together for years now and the year-over-year data has enabled Tucker Ellis to establish valuable benchmarks.

The data is certainly the underlying structure for both Rockwell and Tucker Ellis, but it is a willingness to share risk and truly partner that sets this relationship apart. An open, collaborative relationship is what drives meaningful conversations and maintains a critical level of two-way communications. We both strongly agree that hiring outside counsel should not be based solely on the outcome or quality of legal services, but rather the technology infrastructure of both parties and each other's commitment to trust and success.

Gary Ballesteros is Vice President, Law, for Rockwell Automation. Ballesteros also oversees the Records Management function, the Environmental and Safety organization, and the Product Safety organization and works closely with those groups to practice preventative law to avoid issues before they rise into litigation. Jonathan Cooper is a partner in the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis and has spent most of his career as a trial lawyer. Cooper's primary focus has been the defense of product manufacturers including the national and regional defense of manufacturers of material handling, automation, and electrical products.

While technology, data and the resulting “insights” are at the core of any successful client-law firm relationship, perhaps the real underlying factors for success are communication, collaboration and trust. The question for many legal professionals remains which comes first, the technology or the trust? The technology provides the necessary infrastructure and establishes a common data set for both client and firm. Although the client might be using the data for budgeting and forecasting, the law firm might be using the same intelligence for performance metrics and cost-per-case. Nevertheless, the two entities are sharing a common point of reference. But it is what you do with that common point of reference that truly defines a successful relationship between client and firm.

A relationship based on open communication, collaboration, sharing, common access to data and intelligence, and a compensation model of shared risk might seem unattainable, but it's become a reality for Tucker Ellis LLP and Rockwell Automation. Industrial automation giant Rockwell Automation managed to establish a unique, trusted and transparent partnership with its outside national counsel, Tucker Ellis LLP.

Blazing the Path to Transparency

With more than 25 lawyers, 18 paralegals, and various administrative staff that span across seven locations, Rockwell Automation's in-house legal team was an early adopter of legal technology and implemented e-billing for all of its outside counsel firms.

As the company searched for a national counsel to handle its ongoing asbestos litigation cases, it was adamant that the winning firm had to be different. The firm had to embrace technology, data, metrics and accountability. Rockwell's national asbestos counsel had to have a common understanding of success (including mutually beneficial alternative fee arrangements (AFAs)), consistent and open dialogs to forge trust, and the commitment to demonstrate results using actual metrics and data. Enter Tucker Ellis LLP.

Tucker Ellis, with more than 160 attorneys across five locations, was an early adopter of technology, and created a practice that relies on that data to optimize client relationships and fee arrangements. In fact, more than 50% of the firm's fee revenue in each of past three years has been through AFAs. Rockwell has only been in business 10 years, but it knew early on that one of the key ingredients to make a new foray into delivering legal services was to invest in technology. Rockwell's philosophy is that data is the most important shared resource between client and law firm. This commitment was a key factor in Rockwell's selection process, and Tucker Ellis was ultimately selected and retained because of its acumen for using technology.

Keeping the Relationship Honest

Because the firm and the client share a mutual desire for data, it's been easy for Rockwell to measure the success of its decision to go with Tucker Ellis. Using data from the year prior to establishing a relationship with Tucker Ellis as a baseline, Rockwell was able to determine that its outside legal fees for its national counsel for asbestos litigation decreased dramatically. In fact, it dropped by nearly 60%, despite the fact that the number of case numbers increased. This point underscores the success of the two companies' joint commitment to AFAs. At Tucker Ellis, the data is the underlining key to its fee structure, but what makes the relationship with Rockwell work is a desire and willingness to share risk and to partner with each other. Tucker Ellis' fee structure is designed to provide Rockwell with cost security, but it also incentivizes the team to manage Rockwell's litigation efficiently.

Not only did Rockwell bring Tucker Ellis into the selection process when considering Bridgeway Software, but it also decided to integrate the firm into the application.

Establishing a client-counsel relationship based on AFAs is no easy task, but Rockwell and Tucker Ellis have such a unified commitment to success ' underpinned by trust ' they actually started using a pre-cap allocated fee arrangement from the onset. Of course, as the client Rockwell welcomed the arrangement, but one would think the outside counsel might have reservations. Not so with Tucker Ellis. Because of the technology, the valuable data it provides, and the level of trust between our two companies, it is very comfortable for Tucker Ellis to work with AFAs and fee caps with a bonus; in fact, they actually work to the firm's advantage. The success factor here is attributed to the level of detail in the billing information, which actually goes beyond simple billing data. Trends and other business intelligence have enabled Rockwell and Tucker Ellis to track what-if scenarios, local and national trends on spend, increases and decreases in case disposition, cost per disposition, etc., and then apply that intelligence to make better business decisions.

For example, with Tucker Ellis as Rockwell's national counsel, the two companies are able to share insightful data that can determine specific case loads in various local offices, trends on various outcomes, and which jurisdictions were the most costly. In order to be successful, Tucker Ellis knew as the outside firm it was imperative to really understand its client and the success factors involved. Tucker Ellis spent a lot of time learning what makes Rockwell happy and what makes the firm profitable ' and it couldn't have done that without reliable data and analysis.

Shared Risk and Partnership

Sharing risk may sound like a lofty, unrealistic goal, but when done correctly and with the right partner the results can set the stage for a new model of client-counsel success. For the team at Rockwell, it's all about delivering better results for less spend and having the ability to get solid data to make sound decisions. The collective, innovative use of AFAs has enabled it to meet this goal and achieve a better balance of risk between outside counsel and client. Although Tucker Ellis is Rockwell's leading vendor in outside spend, the e-billing process is so efficient and reliable that it has moved to quarterly invoices, which really eases the amount of time and effort it takes to manage the budget. As a result of the consistency and reliability of the shared data and solid reporting and analysis, Rockwell also moved out its annual account review with Tucker Ellis to a biannual basis. The bottom line is that Rockwell gets the data it needs when it needs it. Rockwell is a data-driven group, and while some decisions are still based on gut feelings, it can now back it up with data and intelligence from both its internal staff and from Tucker Ellis.

For the Tucker Ellis group serving the Rockwell account, it's about providing the client with as much cost certainty as possible, sharing the data in a way that eliminates surprises, and establishing the right incentives that quell any doubts on perceived value. Rockwell and Tucker Ellis have been working together for years now and the year-over-year data has enabled Tucker Ellis to establish valuable benchmarks.

The data is certainly the underlying structure for both Rockwell and Tucker Ellis, but it is a willingness to share risk and truly partner that sets this relationship apart. An open, collaborative relationship is what drives meaningful conversations and maintains a critical level of two-way communications. We both strongly agree that hiring outside counsel should not be based solely on the outcome or quality of legal services, but rather the technology infrastructure of both parties and each other's commitment to trust and success.

Gary Ballesteros is Vice President, Law, for Rockwell Automation. Ballesteros also oversees the Records Management function, the Environmental and Safety organization, and the Product Safety organization and works closely with those groups to practice preventative law to avoid issues before they rise into litigation. Jonathan Cooper is a partner in the Cleveland office of Tucker Ellis and has spent most of his career as a trial lawyer. Cooper's primary focus has been the defense of product manufacturers including the national and regional defense of manufacturers of material handling, automation, and electrical products.