NEGOTIATING WIN-WIN FEE
ARRANGEMENTS
by Stuart J T Dodds of Baker & McKenzie
Negotiating
Win-Win Fee
Arrangements
In early October 2013, I was fortunate enough to
be on a panel with Toby Brown and John Strange —
both are strong proponents of pricing and project
management disciplines within law firms — as
part of the Legal Marketing Association's (LMA)
P3 conference. The topic of the panel was "Getting
the Work … Profitably: Negotiating Win-Win Fee
Arrangements." Indeed, this is a topic that continues
to vex law firm and law department clients. How can
we develop mutually beneficial fee arrangements
under the constraints of the new normal?
NEGOTIATING THE "RIGHT"
WAY
For those who have a pessimistic view of
negotiations (and there are a few of you out there)
the process can be thought of as one or more of the
following:
•A personal attack on the value that each party
brings to the other (law firm/ law department/
client)
•A way for one party to exert more control
•A form of rejection
•A block to developing stronger relationships
