Monthly Archives: June 2020

Feit Consulting’s Annual Legal Information Vendor Market Survey is Now Open!

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

As economic pressures and the effects of COVID-19 increase, how will those changes affect law firm budgets and decision making for its legal information products?  Will law firms be able to justify retaining two generally redundant and expensive products—Lexis and Westlaw?  How will the current business climate affect pricing decisions of the four major service providers?  Will the 2019 pricing gambles of major information service providers pay off as firms scrutinize service providers, or will they trigger a tipping point under new market pressures?

There’s never been so much uncertainty as US law firms prepare forecasts.  With so many unanswered questions as we enter the second half of the year and budget season, it’s a great time to see what is on everyone’s mind.

That is why we are excited to announce that we have opened participation in our annual Legal Information Vendor Market Survey and we invite you and your firm to participate!  In this dynamic environment, we can’t wait to see what this year’s Survey reveals.

As always, participants in our annual survey will receive a complimentary copy of the results – so you can see what your peers are thinking as well.

The 2020 Legal Information Vendor Market Survey gives you a chance to share your viewpoint on vendor sentiment and satisfaction, interchangeability of products, client recovery, and your price expectations for Westlaw, LexisNexis, Bloomberg BNA and Wolters Kluwer.

This year’s Survey delves into what new ways firms may be using legal information, including:

• What will happen to print – will this be the end?
• How will firms change their product mix going forward?
• Which vendors will gain market share – and which will lose?

Participation is open now through Friday, July 10^th – click on the button below to start:

Remember: only participants will receive a complimentary copy of the results, providing you and your firm with decision-making insights. 

Now is the time: Take control of your library

By Becky Bowman | Feit Consulting

By Becky Bowman  l  Feit Consulting

There were countless times over the course of my career as a law librarian I wished I could have stayed home and worked.  I recall cold icy mornings or bad hair days that made me long for the comfort of my home. Over the past few weeks, those wishes have come true. If your firm or company is forward thinking, some of you may have worked from home pre-pandemic as all firms are now dealing with staff working from home.  

For researchers, working from home has most likely been a smooth transition—and may continue to be. A request comes in, researchers are able to access needed resources electronically and begin to work on what will become the end product for the attorney; barring any sustained technical issues, the process is seamless.

But what about the physical library? The mail hasn’t stopped coming. Every day, it brings books, journals, newspapers; not to mention invoices and the thousands of advertisements vendors send out. How does all this get processed and how much money is being wasted as these books, journals, and newspapers pile up and collect dust?  

One of the main unfortunate side-effects of the pandemic has been economic, putting extreme financial pressure on many law firms. When there’s pressure on margins, management almost always comes to the Library/Resource Center with budget cuts. And as we look at the possibility of returning to the office, law firm leaders will be looking at that office overhead – one of the top expenses after salaries – and wondering:  do we need all this space?  What is the right balance of in-office and at-home staff?  Time will tell, but now is the time to evaluate your library and the direction it needs to take going forward.

To make sense of all this, librarians might want to consider engaging a consulting company. A consulting firm – if it’s unbiased – can help you gather information objectively and can make life a little easier for you and help you produce better results. An objective evaluation of services, resources, and operations will produce a clear picture of best practices and steps for moving forward. Most importantly, a consultant can help put you in a proactive position, offering solutions to management in a changing world.

If you would like to learn how Feit can help your firm look at the full picture and assess your library, reach out to us here.

About the Author

Becky Bowman, Law Library Consultant 

Becky served as the Chief Research and Information Analysis Officer for Am Law 100 firm, Baker Donelson for 32 years where she ultimately led a team of 5 to serve 750+ attorneys across 23 domestic locations. Becky’s accomplishments at Baker were multiple, including transforming the library from print to digital, overseeing the efficient combination of 15 mergers and acquisitions of library materials, and successfully rebranding her department, and achieving buy-in from key stakeholders. Her exceptional experience is invaluable for clients as they assess the actual total cost and value of their library and research department including current print and digital collections, vendor contracts, as well as consider cultural and workflow disruptions or benefits in moving to an outsourcing vendor.