publication of the International Legal Technology Association
Issue link: https://epubs.iltanet.org/i/742458
10 WWW.ILTANET.ORG | ILTA WHITE PAPER FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT Creating and Renewing Client Relationships and Fee Arrangements The process of creating and renewing an arrangement is circular since building a repeatable process is critical to forming a healthy client relationship. » How do clients with similar revenue compare? » What is the cash flow? Is the client paying on time, and is the billing lawyer issuing bills on time? » What are the write-downs and write-offs? How much time is spent re-issuing invoices to make the client happy? The outward financial view requires looking at the data from the client's point of view. Procurement and legal operations will want to determine if they are purchasing services at the market rate. The questions that come out of a review of metrics include: » Is the correct level of resources providing the work (i.e., what are the ratios of partner, senior associate, associate, junior associate and paralegal time)? » What is the average rate for hourly maers? » What is the history of rate increases? Beyond the financial side, there are non-financial metrics that clients may consider, including: » Internal surveys on responsiveness and quality of service » Proactive advice » Ancillary services such as continuing education » Investment in understanding the organization's business » Contributions to the community, diversity and green initiatives With the advent of a variety of unique arrangements, the functions of pricing and business development now are joined at the hip. Generating proposals, responding to RFIs and renewing relationships have become tightly integrated and should form parts of a singular process. Negotiation and Formation: Capture the Deal Terms The negotiation of any arrangement could require the creation of multiple models to allow a complete negotiation to occur and to provide a baseline of what is acceptable. Once the negotiation is complete, capture the deal terms in a manageable manner. This has been a significant challenge; most legacy technologies used have not been designed for tracking this level of complexity.