Welcome to the Fall 2020 edition of Mattern Matters, the newsletter of Mattern. My name is Rob Mattern, President of Mattern, unbiased support services analysts and cost recovery experts.
Well, 2020 is continuing as the year that everyone wants to forget, but hopefully we are turning a corner.
As I write this, the contentious election is over and there is good news on the vaccine front. I feel confident that the New Year and the next season should find us in a much better place.
On the Mattern front, things are busy and we continue to stay connected virtually with our LIVE! virtual Coffee Break Zoom sessions.
Mattern LIVE!
Where else can you get Mattern to buy you a Starbucks coffee + knowledge-sharing from your industry peers? Mattern LIVE! Coffee Breaks, of course!
By the time you read this we will have completed our last Coffee Break for the year: “Better Performance, Half the Price: What Your Back and Middle Office Operations Can Learn from a Golf Ball with Dean Snell.” We really enjoyed bringing some out of the box thinking from the corporate world, and attendees thought it was a hole-in-one.
Other great Coffee Break guests this year:
- Brian Schare, COO of Schulte Roth & Zabel highlighted middle and back office concerns and shared his thoughts on what’s going to happen to these functions in the foreseeable future.
- Tammy Baldwin, Chief of Business Operations, Perkins Coie, and David Dore, the firm’s Director of Business Resilience discussed what steps they have taken in regard to the firm’s back and middle office operations, as well as a unique solution to Perkins’ in-house administrative staff.
- Bill Rector, Administrator at O’Melveny & Myers discussed administrative outsourcing.
- Mattern’s Outsourcing Marketplace, with 10 outsourcing service providers, offered views on what to expect in 2021 and beyond. BONUS – in this edition of Mattern Matters we have included a snapshot of that conversation.
Look for more in 2021 and possibly a new format – Mattern Zoom Coffee Breakinars!
As the year is coming to an end, we have put together special articles to help your firm in preparing for next year. We begin with “Seven Things Law Firms Should Do Now” by yours truly. This comprehensive article outlines seven steps law firms should take now in light of the pandemic and the New Normal of attorneys and staff working from home.
In conjunction with this article, we highlight an engagement we had with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP. This case study focuses on the output Request for Proposal (RFP) Mattern did for them this past year. Faced with a challenging output situation and multiple contracts, we were able to get them into a much better place financially with unlimited flexibility and a unified platform.
To Scan or Not to Scan?
Our very own consultant, Ben Schmidt, the wizard of off-site records storage, breaks down in great detail the ongoing debate of whether to scan documents held in off-site storage or let them stay until their retention period expires allowing you to destroy them.
We then complement this article with a case study featuring Holland & Knight and how the firm was able to reduce their current off-site costs by 34% while cost-effectively implementing their retention plan. A definite win-win.
Outsourcing: Friend or Foe?
At the end of October, we were pleased to continue to sponsor the 19th Annual COO CFO Forum. This year, Mattern focused on helping attendees increase their understanding of the changes that have occurred, and continue to occur, in the outsourcing marketplace.
We kicked off the COO CFO Forum by presenting, “Outsourcing: Friend or Foe?” where I analyzed when to keep services in-house, when to outsource, and what can be achieved along the way. With such a high demand for this session, we have added a snapshot of what was discussed as well as the option to request the full session.
Happy and Healthy Holiday Wishes
In closing, I truly wish you a great Thanksgiving and Holiday season. I think I can speak for everyone when I say I am grateful – and also looking forward to the New Year
