Part of the changing landscape in the legal arena that we have been promoting is the use of the outsourcing request for proposal process to foster a business relationship between the law firm and the vendor providing these services.
With the outsourcing “spend” being in the top five spends a firm has, and these contracts running into the millions, it creates an excellent opportunity for a firm to create a dialogue with their vendor(s) to get commitments from vendors in return.
Does it work?
Yes – in every situation where we have been involved and a firm has used this opportunity, it has either created a meaningful dialogue or a hard commitment for business with dollars attached.
Do the vendors mind? It depends. If you are Williams Lea, which is part of Deutche Post and has a tremendous amount of legal business to spread around, they welcome the opportunity. If you are Novitex (formerly Pitney Bowes Management Services and recently purchased by Apollo Management Group) and do not have the legal spend, they don’t like it.
The bottom line is the bottom line – in this day and age, the top line should be considered with the bottom line.
