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Just had a meeting with a great law firm today that showed me its proprietary litigation management platform. It was like Henry Ford showing me an assembly line for the law. I'm amazed. Also, why the hell haven't other law firms rolled this kind of stuff out?
Almost all insurance claims follow well known paths. This is true in general liability, D&O, cyber, etc. There is a certain pattern. You can basically automate calendaring issues, when to send discovery, what to send in discovery, etc.
Budgets should be a function of the # of witnesses, the novel legal research issues to be decided, etc. None of this ballparking, "These things generally go for $50,000" bullshit. There is actual data that we can bring to the fight.
Deviations from budgets should be directly communicated to claims handlers in a real time basis. Turns out we spoliated evidence? Then that should be communicated to claims WAY BEFORE the finding in court. Adjust the budget as necessary.
Outcomes should be monitored. law firm expenses + other costs should be assessed against similar matters. Show me your best associates & partners. Not all claims go to the #scotus. Act like most litigation follows a pattern and you'll start to find areas of efficiency.
Further, show the client the metrics. Give me pretty charts and graphs with your settlement to demand ratio, ROI for motions practice (how about you measure the value of your strategies in litigation!), and give me a reason to give you a raise. Act like a business partner.
This year I've dealt with about 100 name brand law firms across the country and have seen precisely 1 American firm take the time to develop these kind of metrics and monitoring. I called up the global head of my department to see if there is more work to give them.
