Editorial
Hello, my name is Rob Mattern and I am the President of Mattern. Welcome to the winter edition of our newsletter, Mattern Matters.
In this edition of Mattern Matters, we are going to cover everything from our one-of-a-kind IG survey, to a quick overview of the Thomson Reuters 22nd Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum that took place earlier this month in Washington. Also included, we have an insightful case study detailing a recent offsite records success, in addition to another new case study illustrating the importance of Information Governance.
Saving the best for last, this issue marks our heartfelt goodbyes to one of our consultants who has been with Mattern for almost two decades, Ed Warren, as well as welcoming one of our new hires.
Mattern 2023 Information Governance Survey – A Sneak Peak
We are thrilled that we are close to releasing the results of the Mattern 2023 Information Governance Survey (“Survey”). We launched this survey in coordination with the industry’s most respected IG thought leaders to provide law firms first-of-kind data surrounding industry-wide practices of data retention as well as insights regarding common roadblocks to the development and implementation of information governance (IG) policy.
What exactly are firms doing and where is the industry headed? Participating firms will be receiving their fully customized reports soon. And while we cannot broadly share the full results with non-participating firms, we do encourage firms to request the Executive Overview.
The 22nd Annual Law Firm COO & CFO Forum: Feedback from the Front
Mattern recently attended and presented at Thomson Reuters’ 22nd Annual COO & CFO Forum in Washington, DC. As usual, it was one of the better events that we sponsor and encompasses a wealth of great speakers presenting on a multitude of topics.
A perennial favorite is the keynote session, “The State of the US Legal Market” presented by Jim Jones, Senior Fellow, Center for the Study of the Legal Profession Georgetown University Law Center and Greta Rusanow, Managing Director and Head of Advisory Services at Citi Private Bank Law Firm Group, which, as the title suggests, provides an overview of the US legal industry.
According to the data presented by Jim and Greta, here are the seven areas that law firms will be focused on in 2024.
Mattern Helps Phelps Dunbar LLP Stop Unrealistic Rate Increases and Reduce Offsite Records Storage Contract Costs by 10%.
Phelps Dunbar LLP, a 360-attorney firm based in New Orleans, was experiencing a challenge common to many firms: unnecessary fees, unrealistic rate increases, and unmet service levels of the firm’s offsite records storage service provider. At the time, Phelps was engaged with three (3) service providers to service storage needs for their five (5) offices across the south. Not only were there inefficiencies in managing multiple sites, but there were no economies of scale of which to take advantage When it came time to renew the contract with one of the service providers, leadership sought to improve its situation with contract terms that better protected the firm, including best in market rates.
Mattern Creates IG Policy for Physical and Electronic Records for 150 Attorney Firm
Headquartered in St. Louis, this 150-attorney firm with multiple offices throughout the Midwest approached Mattern about assisting the firm with management of their records, data governance, and library services.
While leadership felt progress had been made with some of the firm’s electronic records practices, professionals in the records department lacked the bandwidth to oversee a firmwide plan to address their paper records. To that end, leadership was looking for an information governance expert to help the firm create a comprehensive information governance policy for both physical and electronic records.
