Preferred Law Firm Programs

Build stronger bonds with core law firms to deliver better results.  CMG helps with smarter RFPs, better program structure, effective law firm scorecards and annual performance reviews, rate management, and ROI analysis.

For years, our industry has focused on Preferred Law Firm Programs as a means to increase value and quality of legal work. More recently, the focus has shifted to analyze, in more detail, whether these types of programs are a good fit for everyone – and according to what terms.

Recognizing there is no “one size fits all,” CMG helps with customized analysis and financial modeling to determine how law firm consolidation and/or a Preferred Law Firm Program would benefit your Legal Department. Whether you are considering launching a new program, or looking to tune up an existing one, our analyses and strategic recommendations will help you get better value from your efforts, and more successful partnerships with you law firms.

Below are the types of question we help answer in the course of a Preferred Law Firm Program Review.

• What benefits would we expect from launching / revising our Preferred Law Firm Program?
• What drawbacks would come, and how can we best minimize these?
• What savings would we achieve, in both time and money?
• What value-added terms should we think about in launching this program?
• How is the Preferred Law Firm Program beneficial to our selected firms?
• What are the best ways to deal with the firms not selected for our Program?
• How would we monitor quality to ensure that the work meets our standards?
• What are the strategic plans for existing, as opposed to future, work?
• What is the role of healthy competition among firms to be selected for our program, and once in our program? How do we balance healthy competition with preserving relationships?
• What is the best way to structure the selection process? Who is involved, and to what extent?
• What project management support is needed?
• What are the most realistic and manageable timeframes?
• What RFP forms, scorecards and communications would be helpful to this process?
• What is the role, if any, of alternative fees (e.g. for segments of the portfolio)?
• How are new matters to be assigned?
• Under what circumstances would we go “off the list”? How frequently?
• What scorecards and metrics to track overall success?