Opinion: Impressing in-house counsel

Law firms need to go the extra mile in delivering added-value services that really do add value for the in-house lawyer. By Gillian Switalski, director of legal services, F&C Asset Management

In the ever changing world of legal services (soon to change a great deal more) being the purchaser is not always a simple exercise.

The actual cost of legal services is often the last thing on the in-house lawyer’s mind. We may be cash-rich if we have a good budget (not always the case!) but we are certainly time-poor. One of the most added-value things we can get from external lawyers is updates, but that in itself becomes a major problem.

I am inundated most days with half a dozen updates on what is in effect the same topic. Why can’t law firms get together and have some sort of network whereby they have a supply of brief bullet-point synopses with a mechanism for in-house lawyers to only see the updates we need from the specific law firms we would like to receive them from? There must be somebody out there in a law-firm IT department that can come up with a solution to this.

The in-house lawyer faces numerous pressures from senior management. The role has changed completely and now we are expected not just to provide legal advice, that’s a given, but help manage the risk profile as well as get involved in new business opportunities. What we need is for law firms to be run more like commercial businesses, helping us seize these new business opportunities and make the most of them.

The relationship that the in-house lawyer has with a law firm is crucial, and a good relationship is only possible if individuals within law firms have an open-minded attitude and are not always thinking about charging for everything with the meter ticking. If external counsel can learn to work this way, this is when they really become trusted advisers to in-house counsel.

What does it take to become a trusted adviser? One of the things that external law firms need to do is to constantly review their top-20 clients (give or take) and make sure they keep in touch so that when a client faces changing circumstances, they are the first port of call. Law firms need to keep up-to-date with all the news and issues that could affect a client’s business.

The client wants to feel that they are more than just somebody sitting there paying out for legal services on an ad hoc basis. They want a symbiotic relationship with their external law firms.

Unfortunately for law firms, accountants have seen this and have managed to seize some of the ground – they offer consultancy services as well as their general accountancy services in areas that law firms could readily, with their skill sets, get involved in. I am not advocating becoming embroiled where there are dreadful insurance issues or areas that pose immense risks, but a law firm should bond with a business and be able to guide them through issues that may arise.

In-house lawyers want real added value. It is not just enough to be a good lawyer; it needs to be far more than that. Law firms need to be willing to expend time, energy and money finding out about their clients. If they do that they will build solid long-term relationships. Going for the quick buck is not where it is at. Most law firms would deny that they ever do that but, in my experience, there are many law firms that actually do. The best law firms are the ones that keep knocking and keep coming to talk to you because at some stage there will be something that gels and you can give them some work. Funnily enough, it is the smaller law firms that seem to be more than willing to do this – to expend time, money and energy.

There is a very interesting phenomenon that it is usually the last person you talk to that is the first person you think of and if law firms stay in touch whether there is work available or not, at some stage, it will pay dividends.

Gillian Switalski is director of legal services at F&C Asset Management. She can be contacted at gillian.switalski@fandc.com