As mentioned in out Mattern Minute of April 29, 2011, the 2010 Mattern & Associates Cost Recovery Survey has generated quite a bit of media attention and justifiably so. If a Firm takes the benchmarks and industry trends that the study highlights and applies them to their support services operation, they will be able to make a significant impact on their billable cost recovery revenue. As I blogged on March 16th, McCarter & English is using the increased realization of hard costs through the implementation of Mattern Plan B Cost Recovery™ for its Lit Support department. Another one of our clients, Marshall Dennehey is starting to capture and charge for black & white and color scans. This additional cost recovery revenue will equal the current billable recoveries for b&w copies. In other words, by capturing and recovering the current scan volume, the Firm is positioned to double its monthly billable cost recovery revenue. (yes, that is correct). This engagement is detailed in the case study listed on our website under the media section titled Triple Play. (Click Here).
Many Firms that we speak with are caught up in the “antidotal” world of cost recovery. They won’t even discuss changing policies based on a singular event such as a client pushing back or refusing to pay for soft cost recoveries. Our recommendation is to examine the facts and trends, gather unbiased data, and apply your firm’s experience to develop a cost recovery strategy that will maximize billable revenue in the new legal economy.
