Save Money On Your Legal Budget!
Occasionally, we will include guest columns with topics of interest to public companies and those that serve them. Here is a guest column by my colleague, Doug Holod. Doug is a partner in our Business and Securities Group and a member of Maslon's Governance Committee. Please let us know your thoughts about Doug's column - post a comment below or send me an e-mail. Doug's list will continue to be posted as one of the Resources on the home page of the Blog. - Marty Rosenbaum
One universal theme that has become more pronounced during the current (past?) recession is the demand by businesses for value; everyone wants more for less. On the legal front, in-house counsel are being pressured to: 1) reduce their reliance on outside counsel; 2) lower their own internal costs (which may include eliminating some in-house positions); and 3) minimize risk and exposure. Businesses without in-house counsel are also focusing on cutting costs while still minimizing risk and exposure.In response, some law firms have become more resourceful with alternative billing arrangements such as fixed fees, including monthly retainers for corporate work, fixed prices for private placements, stock option and compensation plans and the like. Section 16 filings have become commoditized as well. Lawyers in firms will have to continue innovating in line with this trend, even after the recession subsides.
Attached you will find a list that I prepared for businesses to reduce legal costs and maximize value. Much of it is common sense (e.g avoid lawsuits) . . . but some of it shakes the foundation of the way corporate law firms have traditionally practiced over the past few decades (give clients standardized forms for them to customize). By applying some principles from this list, a business should be able to reduce legal costs and maximize the value of the services it receives.
