Cost recovery, that’s what’s hot.
Last week, I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Wall Street Journal’s Jennifer Smith for an article based in great part on the 2012 Cost Recovery Survey results. We’ve been conducting the Cost Recovery Survey, now, for 8 years, with each year seeing our hard work and efforts improve both the integrity of the process and the relevance of the Survey results. We were pleased to have that hard work recognized. The article, “Law Firms Face Backlash Over Fees,” came out just this Monday.
In other news, the 11th Annual Hildebrandt COO CFO Forum in New York City commences today, and that’s also hot. The two day forum begins this morning at 9am at the Westin Hotel and will focus on how law firms can maintain profitability in a rough economy while understanding the risks and finding new strategies.
At 8am on Friday, October 26th, I’ll have an opportunity to address the Forum’s COOs and CFOs on the topics of cost recovery based upon our 2012 Surveyresults: specifically that, while law firms are continuing to respond to clients’ requests to control the legal spend, this scrutiny on expenses has impacted soft cost recoveries, including:
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Increased pushback and refusal to pay for certain items by clients
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Downward pressure on rates and net realizations
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Continued preference by clients to reimburse firms for hard costs
I’ve also invited industry veteran, Monica Bay, editor-in-chief of Law Technology News, to join me as a guest speaker that morning–and I’m pleased to say our joint session is titled, “What’s Hot and What’s Not in Legal.”
Monica will focus on ethics and risk management hazard stories straight from the headlines of LTN—and with her expertise and vantage point, the discussion is sure to be dynamic.
Thanks for joining us, Monica—and thanks to the Wall Street Journal for recognizing the years and depth of analysis in our Cost Recovery Survey data.
Hope to see you in New York at the COO CFO Forum.
