Counsel call for alternative billing

Alternative billing methods is the best initiative law firms could implement to improve relationships with their clients’ legal departments, according to a new survey.

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) polled 5355 chief legal officers (CLOs) and general counsel (GC) in the US, and found respondents ranked more billing options, such as flexible and e-billing, as the most attractive prospects.

The second most popular possibility was for firms to offer more seminars and training sessions, whereas in 2006 seminars was highest ranked, with alternative billing options in third place.

The survey also found Counsel spend the majority (70 per cent) of their time on corporate transactional work, compared with just over a quarter (28 per cent) on compliance activities, and 21 per cent dealing with board relations. E-discovery and records-management issues were also high on the agenda for 2008.

Asked about relationships with auditors, a quarter (25 per cent) of GCs and CLOs said they had been strained, while 16 per cent had seen a slight improvement. For a clear majority (59 per cent), however, the relationship had not changed significantly. ACC president Frederick Krebs said: “Compliance with the collections of rules and regulations is a shared goal for those at the front lines of the audit process.

“Although employed or engaged by the same company, and sharing a common interest in appropriate financial disclosure as required by securities laws, outside auditors and in-house lawyers bring different perspectives to their roles and each must meet different legal and regulatory requirements that apply to their respective missions in the audit process.”

Nevertheless, 85 per cent of those polled reported finding their careers rewarding in spite of increased scrutiny, and “welcomed opportunities to expand their roles and the support they provided to clients”.

The survey was the eighth of its kind organised by the ACC.