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Pandemic Drives Law Firms and Clients to Common Ground on Pricing

By Dan Packel
March 01, 2021

When the coronavirus pandemic first upended the American economy in March 2020, General Motors reached out to the 19 firms on its panel of "strategic legal partners." The second quarter presented an enormous, worrisome question mark, and the automaker — like so many businesses of all sizes — was looking to preserve cash.

GM general counsel Craig Glidden says the company didn't know what would happen in the auto markets, which meant asking firms for help. And those firms stepped up, agreeing to deferred billing and alternative fee arrangements to relieve some of the company's pressure.

Luckily for all parties, the moment was short-lived. The auto sector rebounded in the third quarter, and Glidden is hopeful that his company's relationship with its law firms will soon revert to something more normal.

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