All Posts by Michael Feit

Edge Put in Context

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

It’s almost difficult to recall pre-2008 when law firms were able to pass invoices and include back and middle office costs through to clients and clients paid, a world where a law firm would rather have some overlap between providers, say its research services vendors LexisNexis and Westlaw, than to be without any niche product, no matter how esoteric.

Clients were paying the costs for the most part hence the ability for firms large and small to have dual information service vendors. Things changed, as we all know so well.  Downward pressure on price brought margins down to razor thin levels and not just tremendous pushback on recovery, but the law firm’s own C-suite needed to push lean efficiency in every department of the firm could not afford that kind of lux decision making any longer—thus giving rise to the sole provider trend.

The sole provider trend reached an all-time high last year at a remarked 68% of firms going sole provider and 62% of those firms having opted for Westlaw.  However, our survey’s preliminary results are showing that change is afoot!  In fact, firms who dropped Lexis for Westlaw are seeing Lexis come back with pricing and services so attractive, that firms are taking them back!

Westlaw’s price increases may have proved to be short-sighted, and overconfident.

Context, the new tool recently launched by Lexis Nexis rolls in much of the features from Ravel Law.  Using AI and machine learning to power visualization technology, provide quantitative data and anticipate behavior.  Context delivers a seamless search experience, allowing lawyers to access analytics within Lexis Advance. Cumulatively Context’s research functions and solutions deliver a compelling, competitive alternative to Westlaw Edge.

Perhaps more importantly, LexisNexis has not only kept up with its competitors in features, but we anticipate that Context will be offered at a considerably lower cost than Edge.  While Westlaw is focused on price-protection, Lexis is striving to grow market share and increase product adoption with more reasonable pricing.

We can’t wait to see how the data plays out in this area.  If you haven’t participated yet, there’s still time.  The Survey is closing on December 15^th and all participants receive a complimentary copy of the full results.  Start here.

Inside Bloomberg BNA’s Fall Pricing Surprise

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

This article appeared in Legaltech News on 11/13/18.

By Michael Feit
mike@feitconsulting.com

This fall, law firms who subscribe to a handful of BNA reporters and electronic newsletters are receiving a surprise: renewal proposals with unexpected price increases. This comes on the heels of the discontinuance of key products these firms rely on. Early reports from law firm information professionals are describing the proposed price at a substantial 30 percent, 40 percent, or even 50 percent. To justify the upcharges, BBNA clients are being forced into unplanned upgrades with either full or limited BLAW access.

This had not been the standard for BBNA, although it is reminiscent of tactics by their competitors Westlaw and LexisNexis. Up until recently, Bloomberg had abstained from aggressive pricing negotiations. The cost per seat for Bloomberg products may have been high, but annual price increases were within standard range and the prices themselves were more or less transparent. This policy change indicates that BBNA has not been successful illustrating to firms the value of their products beyond what firms may already be receiving from Westlaw and/or LexisNexis.

At certain firms, Bloomberg has the ability to leverage the high value and regard for a small set of their content, which is now enabling them to be more aggressive in negotiations. How far can BBNA push the market and their prices before people walk away?

BBNA is also presenting firms with confusing options, bundling completely different arrays of products, pricing and terms. Firms are reporting that it is taking weeks just to understand the proposals. In addition, when the bundles are fully understood, many are realizing that none of the options actually meet the firm’s needs—and all deliver a big bump in cost. Bloomberg knows that many of these reporters are deemed essential, and this allows them to apply unprecedented pressure.

With no significant advance warning, firms have little recourse in this round of negotiations. Firms have few immediate alternatives, although they exist to a degree thanks to competitors like Wolters Kluwer. With no warning, and no time to negotiate, research or prepare, de facto options are essentially nonexistent.

From a broader perspective, as Bloomberg has had little success penetrating the firm-wide market as a competitor to Westlaw and Lexis, it seems to have decided to leverage the strengths of its unique assets. However, it is unknown if this short-term thinking will be sustainable in the long run.

In the end, the outcome may resemble what has transpired in other similar markets. Alternatives and new competitors will spring up. Customers will be on the alert to seek out more reasonably-priced options. And when the pain of these price increases—and presumably, additional increases to come—becomes too great to bear, firms will simply begin to walk away.

In the meantime, however, this rearguard pricing action is nothing more and nothing less than an information imbalance. It’s basic economics. Markets operate efficiently when everyone has a reasonable degree of information. In this case, Bloomberg currently has all the information and is leveraging that advantage (for now).

In our view, the worst response a firm could have is to default into accepting the new deal. The best response firms can have to these tactics is to increase their own information storehouse. Arming yourself with information about substitutes creates the best possible environment for negotiating, and if necessary, saying “no” is a negotiator’s best friend. This means taking steps now to determine whether the Bloomberg suite of products is absolutely essential, or whether there are alternatives to fill some (or all) of the resulting gaps.

How and Why Your Firm Can Make the Case for the Modern Library

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

Change is a constant in the legal industry.

Clients are not only applying tremendous downward pressure on price but are driving their law firms to provide more value.  And they want that value delivered faster – and cheaper.

These pressures affect the modern law library as it is a core component of any firm’s ability to deliver client value.  Firms know this, but are challenged to know where to start when investigating how their information services compare to peer firms.  Here are just a few of the levers law firm libraries need to assess:

• Work-flow Efficiencies
• Using Technology for Service & Process Improvement
• New Generations of Research Tools
• Showcasing Value through Metrics
• Remote Access – Resources on the go
• Inter-Departmental Collaboration

This assessment can best be accomplished with a thorough audit of the library to evaluate current practices.  A library audit can be performed internally, but results in these situations are often better achieved by a third party consultancy.  They not only bring an objective, unbiased presence to the audit process, but also deliver a broader, industry-wide insight.

When Feit Consulting leads a library audit, we deliver an integrated project approach.  Through a combination of surveys, interviews and site visits, we provide analysis and a comprehensive plan to enhance the delivery of legal information. Specifically:

• Project meetings with firm.
• Stakeholders are identified.
• Surveys, interviews and site visits are calendared with key stakeholders.
• Feit Consulting on-site visits include:
• Review physical operations.
• One-on-one interviews with: Attorneys, IT, Marketing, Administrator, Library Staff, Paralegal/Investigator
• Key information is gathered including budgets, library AP, library shelf list, existing policies and other information as determined.

With these insights from library users, Feit industry experts perform a SWOT analysis, to understand current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats.  The SWOT analysis will identify those things that the library is currently doing well, as well as those areas where there is room for improvement.

A library audit requires some attention and time, but it is an opportunity for information professionals to ensure that they are deploying best-practices to maximize the value that the library brings to the firm.

Prepare, Pushback, and Pilot

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

As law firms continue to move towards digital research tools, reducing reliance on print, the management of vendors relations has become critical.

In the past several months, two of the main legal information service providers, Lexis and Bloomberg, have begun playing what can only be characterized as “hardball.” This particular game features major price increases, mandatory product bundling, incomprehensible contracts, secrecy and in general, the kind of tactics and hardball maneuvering that a scorched-earth litigator might recognize.  Faced with this new normal, librarians must come up with something new.   We suggest a 3 pronged approach:  prepare, push-back, and pilot.

Prepare: Do your homework, both internally and externally. Internally, look through your current library operation and understand what’s going on, in depth, and with metrics. Which services are used the most? Which aren’t?  Are certain resources no longer needed?  Which costs are being passed-through and recovered, and which aren’t? Are certain practice groups relying on a handful of resources?  Know how your library works, and what kind of financial and operational profile it presents to firm management.  Externally, take the time and make the effort to understand what’s going on in the marketplace. Talk to your competitors. Read the trade press. Use the information you have prepared yourself with to have your negotiating position ready.

Push-back:  Knowing what your limits are, and your bottom line you are ready to negotiate.  Critically evaluate any proposals against the knowledge you gained in the preparation phase.  If you don’t like what you see?  Push-back.  You don’t have to accept an information provider’s offer right out of the gate.  Work on getting concessions that meet your goals.  Keep in mind that this is a business negotiation and what was a cooperative relationship may turn contentious.

Pilot: Nothing enhances negotiation outcomes more than having an alternative – a way to say “no.” Find out in advance what these alternatives are, pilot them, and find out firsthand if they work for your firm.  Technology and information are moving faster and faster, as well as being more and more available.  New information resources and tools are continually emerging in the market.  Much of the information you’re currently paying for may well be available from alternate sources, at much better prices.

Taking the time to Prepare, Push-back and Pilot will equip you for even the toughest negotiations and help insure each end-result is optimized in your firm’s favor.

Law Library Strategy and The New Normal

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

Law libraries have changed over the last decade or so, collectively powered by a newly-articulated need to demonstrate both ROI and alignment with the firm’s overall strategic plan.

In making this happen, a good starting point is always understanding what strategy is in the first place.

“Strategy” like “love” and “honesty” is one of the most poorly-defined terms in the English language. That being said, a workable definition is that strategy is the determination of how you plan to win in a market or game or war with other players, by determining where you’re going to put your resources.

A law library has a limited amount of time, management attention, and most of all, budget with which to work. It can’t do everything, and it especially can’t do everything well. Given that it’s a zero-sum game, where do you focus your resources? What’s most important, and what’s not? There are two responses to this question, which have to work in concert.

First, know what the profession as a whole is doing. Your library has to have a strategy, and if it’s innovative or new to the firm, knowledge of general trends within law libraries gives you the data and ammunition you need to defend your strategy.  Know what’s going on with your peers and how they’re reacting to changes in the marketplace, in technology, with information providers in general.

Second, look at your firm’s strategic plan. How are they planning to compete? Where are they putting their resources? What practice groups, technologies, markets, initiatives are being funded, and which are not? Every law firm of any size has such a plan, either written or not, and the key to adapting to the new normal for law libraries is to be able to demonstrate how your library’s strategy (including expenditures and priorities) directly supports firm goals.  Used together, knowing what your peers are doing coupled with the firm’s strategy provides a very strong platform for defending your library’s over-arching goals.

If your current library strategy addresses both of these questions, you’ll have the answers ready and provide demonstrable value to your firm.

Feit Consulting’s experts can help you evaluate your strategy and show you how it compares to best practices in the market.  If you don’t have a strategy, we can help you develop that too.  You can reach out to us here with questions.

Participate in the 2019 Legal Information Vendor Market Survey

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting

Feit Consulting is excited to announce the 2019 Legal Information Vendor Market Survey is now open for participation.

For 2019, the Legal Information Vendor Market Survey has been expanded to capture more of your thoughts on all legal information providers and emerging trends.  The survey will drill down to better understand motivators related to; vendor choice, sole provider, price expectations and more for all major legal information vendors.

In 2018, LexisNexis and Bloomberg BNA forced customers to upgrade to core products in order to retain access to much-needed ancillary content that was previously available a la carte.  This bundling tactic added to an already existing price frustration that law firm administrators were experiencing with their legal information vendors, further complicating purchasing strategies.

The Feit Consulting 2019 Legal Information Vendor Market Survey will help the market better understand true current trends, including:

1. Status of the sole provider trend.
2. Impact of Lexis’ new purchasing restrictions
3. Depth of Bloomberg’s firm-wide penetration in law firms
4. Other products are firms considering or adopting
5. Current recovery rates and the movement to overhead
6. Market response to Westlaw Edge
7. Overall sentiment of legal information product users.

About the Survey

To help law firms understand their platform purchasing options more fully, Feit Consulting created the Market Trends Legal Information Series in 2015.  The series provides objective guidance to large and medium law firm administrators on best practices relating to the management of legal information resources as well as provides critical insight, analysis and guidance not available elsewhere that helps firms make informed decisions regarding legal information options.

The 2019 Legal Information Vendor Market Survey will inform updates of Feit Consulting’s upcoming Market Trends Legal Information Series white papers.  Survey participants receive a complimentary copy of the Survey results, expected to be released in January 2019.

President of Feit Consulting, Michael Feit, remarks, “Law firms need to know and understand this data to leverage and maneuver in this quickly evolving market. Our Market Trends Legal Information Series white papers allow firms to make informed decisions regarding information vendor service providers. Data-driven negotiations help firms achieve their goal of purchasing the tools their attorneys truly require at the best market price. We look forward to delivering this valuable market intelligence in Q1 of 2019.”