Monthly Archives: March 2018

Mar 19

When do contracts longer than 3 years make sense?

By Michael Feit | Pricing , White Papers

Both Lexis and Westlaw are currently pitching long-term deals. This is symptomatic of a saturated market. Online usage and recovery rates have been declining since 2008 and as a result pricing has declined. Why lock your firm into a long-term price commitment in this rapidly evolving market?

Negotiating with the vendors can be a frustrating, drawn-out and often unsatisfying process. For many of our clients, negotiating ranks with tax-time on everyone’s list of fun things to do making the idea of fewer renewals sound enticing.

However, with rare exceptions, a long-term contract is among the worst paths a firm can choose for several reasons. One important reason seems obvious: change. Technology and pricing are continuously changing. You wouldn’t buy a plan that kept you from upgrading your phone for 5 years, would you? The legal information landscape is rapidly evolving with exciting acquisitions and new companies/products emerging. These products will continue to pull away use and interest in Lexis and Westlaw. It is always possible that one change in the market could make another product irrelevant. And as Artificial Intelligence rapidly gains momentum, there is much to be seen. What will the legal information landscape look like in 5 years?

Generally, a longer contract benefits the vendor. For legal information contracts, we always advise keeping the term to within your near- and long-term forecasts, generally 3 years or fewer unless you are receiving a truly exceptional deal.

How exceptional is the new proposal? What are the year over year increases? What additional benefits are you receiving for a longer-term contract? Perhaps your firm/organization deleted the vendor in the past and is seeking to reinstate, leading to pricing and terms that are best in market. Make sure they are, and not just because the vendor has told you so. Another option to consider is bundling. Bundling products together can be an advantageous for some. However, for many, a new contract bundle may be hiding unnecessary products or content that the firm or organization doesn’t need. Take a good look at the bundle being offered. It could be a great deal, or it might not, but in either case, it is worth investigating.
Your current contract pricing and terms serve as the basis for upcoming contract negotiations. Learn whether your current contracts or vendor proposals are on par with Feit Consulting’s Market Benchmarks. We can shed light on spend per attorney, discount, and usage. Contact a Feit Advisor to have your contracts and proposals benchmarked. Alternatively, utilize Feit Consulting’s Optimizing Legal Information Pricing report which shares Feit’s market knowledge on these metrics along with concrete strategies to maximize results in your legal information contract negotiations.
Mar 19

Upcoming With Feit Consulting – Stay Connected

By Michael Feit | Best Practices , Events , Feit Consulting , Legal Information Trends

Interested in staying abreast of Feit Consulting’s latest New & Insights or which upcoming events or conferences you can see us at, sign up to stay connected.

Coming this summer Feit Consulting will introduce our 360 Webinar Series, a special benefit of the FEIT360 Plus subscription. As thought leaders in legal information, Feit Consulting continues to evolve to meet our client’s needs. FEIT360 Plus was designed to provide law firm administrators and legal information managers an avenue to utilize expert consultants with planned costs. Firms and organizations that subscribe to FEIT360 Plus receive special access to the Market Trends Legal Information White Papers white papers, on-call consulting, project specific solutions, and more. Learn more about the benefits of FEIT360 plus. Contact a Feit Advisor today to set up a call to learn more about the benefits of FEIT360 Plus for your firm or organization.

 

Mar 16

Now Available: Library Modernization Survey Results

By Michael Feit | Survey Results

 

Today’s librarians are innovators acting as the information hub to support the everyday business of law whether competitive intelligence, client intake, knowledge management and more. But every library is different. Where does your firm fall on the innovation/modernization scale?

Feit Consulting’s has released its latest survey findings. The Library Modernization Survey Results share the questions and analyzed responses of 80 participants, with charts and direct comments. Gain perspective on how the Modern Law Library movement is being realized. You’ll learn what obstacles are holding back law libraries from fully modernizing, and which resources they are accessing to modernize.

Here are some surprises we found:

  • Half of the respondents indicate that firm management doesn’t really understand the role of the library.
  • Nearly two-thirds of law firm libraries surveyed operate using only some or none of initiatives of the firm’s overall strategic plan.

Consider the value of the resources and skills that you offer your firm. Does the library have the right tools in place to support the changing needs of the firm? Does firm leadership capitalize on the skills of your team to assess, implement and utilize new processes and technology to move the firm’s strategic vision forward?

To purchase a copy of the Library Modernization Survey Results, click here.

Purchase of the Survey Results can be applied to the purchase of Feit Consulting’s white paper: Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library. This report was developed with intel from over 250 interviews and in-depth surveys with legal information professionals. Included are check-lists and best practices to guide your firm in achieving maximum ROI – whether those investments are in people or resources.

Mar 16

White Paper Released! Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library

By Michael Feit | Modern Law Library , White Papers

As law firms battle for market share, management must focus on constantly improving value and enhancing service, and that requires ongoing innovation. Successful firm administrators are able to innovate by utilizing existing internal resources in better, more efficient ways with an eye towards process improvement. Consider improving your firm’s ROI by modernizing your law library or optimizing your investment in legal information resources.

Feit Consulting has just released its latest white paper: Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library offering check-lists and best practices to guide in assessing the potential value of a modern law library and its role within the firm.

Developed by our team of experts with input and intel gathered in surveys and interviews with over 250 individuals, this report provides best practices and covers every factor one needs to consider in modernizing their library. This report was developed as a resource for both Administrators and Librarians, highlighting avenues for increasing ROI and showcasing the value of the law library.

Don’t discount what your law library can do. Contemplating old habits and facilitating necessary change brings about new alternatives and solutions for improved value by modernizing the library and optimizing legal information pricing. Learn more about this extensive resource!

Mar 16

What is a Modern Law Library?

By Michael Feit | Modern Law Library

Feit Consulting surveyed librarians and administrators asking what words came to mind when describing the Modern Law Library. The “word cloud” below depicts a summation of those responses. Is your current law library reflected here? As an administrator are these words the same ones that come to mind when you think about your library? The Modern Law Library is not a destination but rather a moving target requiring continual change and on-going work.

The Modern Law Library is an evolving unit. It expands its services and role within the firm to meet new demands and offer enhanced value. It requires individuals working in and with the library to have an open mind of how the skills of the law librarian team can be optimized. To realize a Modern Law Library requires innovating new ways the library can add value, collaborating with new departments within the firm, utilizing metrics to showcase value and articulate ROI, and leveraging technology to improve the delivery of information.

Feit Consulting’s latest white paper, Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library, provides all the elements an Administrator and Librarian needs to consider when modernizing their law library. A 98 page resource with best practices, checklists, and Feit’s Library Modernization Survey Results. This report was developed by our team of experts who collected input from 250+ individuals including attorneys, administrators, librarians, IT and marketing. Learn more about this extensive resource here.

Mar 10

Strategy, Planning, and ROI Tracking for 2018

By Michael Feit | Best Practices , Contract Negotiations , Feit Consulting , Librarians , Modern Law Library , Pricing , Sole Provider , Vendors

Spring brings about the opportunity to do things differently. Technology and the buzz word – modernization, are on the mind we enter into this new year. There are tactical things you as an Administrator or Librarian can do to stay ahead of the game this coming year, and make technology and modernization optimized within your Library.

Budget – Two key words come to mind with regards to budget: collaboration and reporting. Work with Finance to more efficiently monitor budget and expenses. Establish a new schedule for collecting data, and the date of each month or quarter you will turn around that data. For example, receiving data on the 3rd of the month and providing a report to management on the 10th of each month.

Reporting – What metrics are you using to measure ROI and showcase value? Are you collecting feedback from library users? Are you using an Electronic Resource Management (ERM) tool? If so, are you utilizing its full capacity?

Contract Management Planning – Implement new deadlines for legal information management planning. Most of us mark contract expirations on a calendar or in a tracking program. Go a step further.

  • Month 1: Determine which tools you have in place that can provide data on usage, costs, and value. Such tools may include: Invoices, ERM, developing a survey for users, and scheduling one-on-one conversations with attorneys and staff to assess value and usage of products.
  • Month 2: Collect data. Based on the tools determined in month 1, begin collecting data. Work with finance to dive into invoices.
  • Month 3: Analyze the data. Understand what is your ROI for the expiring product(s). Look at as many metrics as you can: Spend per Attorney, usage, discount, etc.
  • Month 4-6: Begin the negotiation process by requesting a proposal from vendor. Remember, it is more beneficial for vendors to wait to the last minute for pressure to sign the new contract. It won’t be easy but start early.

For firms and organizations considering eliminating Lexis or Westlaw, start this process 9 months to 12 months in advance of your contract expiration of either vendor. Assessing vendor preference and combating concerns is a lengthier process than one might think. While it has been done in a month, having more time on your side is always an advantage.

Feit Consulting’s Optimizing Legal Information Pricing is an excellent resource. It shares detailed processes and steps for contract negotiation planning, knowing which metrics to use, and how best to strategize the negotiation process.

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