Managing outside counsel

Legal spend is managed through structure rather than through rate negotiation alone.

Scope and staffing. Define the matter, the deliverable and who works on it. Agree that partner-level work is done by partners and document review is not.

Budgets by phase, with assumptions stated, variance reporting, and a requirement to seek approval before exceeding a phase.

Billing guidelines. Task-based coding, no block billing, defined treatment of travel, research, internal conferences and administrative time, and approval requirements for experts, vendors and travel.

Regular reporting. A short monthly status and budget note, and immediate notice of anything that changes the assessment.

Matter-level decisions belong to the client. Settlement authority, whether to bring a motion, which witnesses to depose. Counsel recommends; the client decides.

Panels and preferred rates for volume work, with performance reviewed periodically on outcome, responsiveness, budget accuracy and value rather than on rate alone.

Alternative fee arrangements where the scope is definable.

Knowledge retention. Require that work product, templates and playbooks developed on the client’s matters be delivered to the client. Paying repeatedly for the same research across matters is the most common avoidable cost.