Category Archives for "Resources"

PLLIP Summit 2017: Nexus of Knowledge and Legal Tech

By Michael Feit | Associations , Events , Librarians

The PLLIP Summit pre-conference–always timely and ever-interesting! This year’s day-long meeting was no exception. If there was one takeaway, it would be that change is the only constant in life, and with that change comes new and exciting possibilities for our profession. What we do with those possibilities is up to us. We need to build on our established alliances and push outside of our comfort zones as we navigate the shifting landscape of organizational reporting, new technologies and artificial intelligence. Librarians must remain flexible and rethink how we apply library skills to create knowledge management solutions–solutions which help further the goals of our organizations and aid our users as they face an increasingly competitive legal landscape.

As collaborators and communicators, librarians need to devise new ways to insert themselves into the daily activities of the firm outside of legal research. Utilize your library skills differently to spread your message, and raise library visibility by supporting daily firm activities like client intake, providing competitive intelligence support during the RFP process, portal and dashboard creation, producing curated client newsletters and becoming seen as the go-to place for data analytics. Assist IT as beta-testers and software implementers. When presented with opportunities to change, meet the challenge, and grow as a person and as a professional. Evolution means moving forward, so don’t be left behind.

Follow Monice’s latest takes on the AALL Conference on Feit Consulting’s LinkedIn page.

Time is money. Leverage it wisely.

By Michael Feit | Best Practices , Contract Negotiations , Pricing , White Papers

What leverage does your firm have going into contract negotiations?

Many firms wait until around three months prior for legal information contract expiration to come top of mind. However, if a firm can allocate more time for planning and evaluating its legal information resources’ value, the extra time creates a huge leverage for the firm. Firms that obtain market knowledge to compare their contract pricing, coupled with key metrics to assess contract resources’ value, will gain significant leverage in legal information contract negotiations.

Planning ahead with the right tools and knowledge is not only critical but absolutely necessary for success. Key leveraging points may include change in size of firm, ample time to make certain contracts co-terminus, firm-wide interest in the sole-provider option, usage and value of each legal information resource, to name a few. A multi-year plan allows one to know ahead of time what the firm’s goals are going into contract negotiations.

Feit Consulting’s latest report, Optimizing Legal Information Pricing, provides market intel to compare your firm’s contract pricing, as well as key leveraging points to utilize in your upcoming legal-information contract negotiation. This resource shares tactics to achieve optimization. It also shares how to optimize your legal-information pricing and terms with Lexis, Westlaw, Wolters Kluwer, BBNA, and other products.

Get ahead of the vendor’s strategy and timeline. Don’t wait to prepare. Optimizing Legal Information Pricing is a tool that will help your firm prepare in time with the essential leveraging tools to achieve success. Learn more here.

The Power of a Successful Contract Negotiation

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations , White Papers

Contract negotiations not only set product/vendor pricing for the next contracted term, but can also determine the pricing path your firm will be on for years after. We all know the story–3-5% increases year over year. Once you lock in at a price and terms, this becomes your new baseline for future negotiations. Vendors will only want to increase over your current price.

Not to fear, price corrections can be made at your next contract negotiations. Feit Consulting sees about 15-20% of the large law firm market paying substantially higher than the market mid-point. Firms that fall into this category won’t be able to reach the market mid-point in one contract cycle; it could take several cycles to price-correct.

There are two secrets to securing optimal pricing in your next legal information contract negotiations: planning and market knowledge.

Allocating enough time to plan for negotiations is one element. Waiting until close to contract expiration is one of the worst mistakes a firm can make. Start the process early. Market knowledge is the other essential tool for achieving optimal results in the negotiation process. This allows one to gauge whether your firm’s current contracts are on par with the market, or above or below. Having this intel affects your leverage in negotiations. Due to secret pricing, no one firm can truly know whether their contract is exceptional or fair without outside knowledge.

Get the tools you need NOW in order to successfully negotiate and optimize your firm’s legal information resources and pricing. Working with a consultant is one option to obtain the market knowledge for benchmarking your firm’s contracts. Another option is Feit Consulting’s Optimizing Legal Information Pricing. Learn more here.

Forgo the Status Quo: Preparing for the AALL Annual Meeting and Conference

By Michael Feit | Associations , Events

The 110th American Association of Law Libraries’ (AALL) Annual Meeting and Conference is scheduled for July 15-18, 2017 in Austin, TX. The theme of this year’s conference, “Forgo the Status Quo”, seems perfect for such an eclectic and vibrant city such as Austin! According to recent attendee surveys, 22% of attendees are from law firm libraries. For that reason, we are excited to attend this year’s conference.

We want to know what our clients want to know.

Below, we offer some suggestions and tips on how best to prepare for the upcoming conference and optimize your time there:

Plan in advance what you want to attend. Prior to the conference, study the conference schedule and decide what programs interest you the most. You have the option of downloading the conference app to your device, making it a handy option for planning on the go and managing your conference schedule (https://eventmobi.com/aall2017/). While you will receive a program upon arrival, come prepared and have the program and the programs you are most interested in attending already highlighted if you prefer paper. As some programs are bound to be more popular than others, try to arrive early to ensure that you can get a seat. Check out the events and meetings scheduled, and map out what events interest you the most.

Schedule time for the vendor hall. Be sure to leave ample time to explore the exhibitor hall and find out what is new and exciting with vendors and databases. You probably won’t be able to do it one day, so plan on popping in once or twice during the conference to connect with vendors and see the greatest and latest offerings. And this is a great time to collect literature on new vendors and databases to share with your colleagues back at your firm.

Bring an extra sweater or long-sleeved shirt, and dress comfortably. Summertime in Austin is HOT, but the Austin Convention Center will be cool. Some conference rooms might be chilly, so come prepared!

Network, network, network! If you attend the conference with colleagues, it might tempting to stick close to them. It’s best to divide and conquer and meet new librarians! And if you go to different programs, you can present what you’ve learned to your colleagues after the conference.

Get Social! If you are on Twitter or Facebook, find the conference hashtag #AALL2017 and follow along for conference news, events, photographs, tips, and commentary. Use #AALL2017 in all of your social media conversations and posts! If you don’t have a chance to attend the conference, this is a great way to follow along.

Bring business cards! Be sure to update your LinkedIn profile before heading to the conference. You may exchange business cards with new folks you meet, but they will likely add you soon after on LinkedIn.

Follow Feit Consulting on LinkedIn to see daily highlights from the conference.

The Austin Food Scene

By Michael Feit | Events

One of the best parts of attending the AALL Conference is experiencing the food in a new city!
Not only does Austin have a thriving music scene, but they are quickly becoming one of America’s best foodie towns. Barbecue is huge here, and the food truck scene is quickly growing. The hip and funky capital of Texas is now ranked in nearly every best food city list. While you may be tempted to stay close to the convention center, don’t be afraid to go further afield and explore different areas of Austin. Both UBER and Lyft have recently returned to the city after a year-long absence, so affordable ride options abound! Since your schedule is likely to be tight, make restaurant reservations in advance on OpenTable or by calling the restaurants.

BBQ
Franklin is Aaron Franklin’s renowned barbeque spot that has folks waiting in line for hours–it is that good! Try to get there by 7:00 am!
900 E 11th St

La Barbecue is a food trailer serving up Central Texas barbecue and offers shorter lines than Franklin’s (AND you can pre-order 5 days in advance). Closed Mondays and Tuesdays.
1906 E Cesar Chavez St

Japanese
Uchi is Tyson Cole’s original “house” that started it all and serves up amazing sushi and Japanese cuisine.
801 South Lamar Boulevard

Uchiko is the offshoot of the famed Uchi restaurant and offers upscale sushi & small plates in a farmhouse-chic space.
4200 N Lamar Blvd

American
Odd Duck offers farm-to-table cuisine with communal seating make this a great choice for a large group for a meal or happy hour! And they offer a separate gluten-free dining menu!

Pizza
Home Slice Pizza serves authentic NY-style pizza.
1415 S Congress Ave

Stanley’s Farmhouse Pizza, set in a barn on Ceres Park Ranch offers handcrafted, artisan pizza. Located on the outskirts of the city, this weekend-only joint is worth the drive!

Donuts
Voodoo Donuts is a cash-only joint that offers quirky and delicious donuts. Go early!
212 East 6th Street

Vegetarian
Mother’s Cafe is a vegetarian and vegan cafe in Hyde Park that has been open since 1980!
4215 Duval Street
and E 43rd Street

Arlo’s is a food truck that offers plant-based comfort food in a bistro-style setting. There are multiple locations, and diners rave about their Bac’n Cheeze Burger!
900 Red River at Cheerup Charlie’s
1700 E. 6th at The Grackle
2908 Fruth at Spider House Cafe

Gluten-Free
True Food Kitchen is always a healthy and safe bet when you are looking for a tasty and reliable gluten-free or vegetarian dining option! Try the local kombucha! Also check out Odd Duck’s gluten-free menu.
222 West Ave

For after-dinner drinks, head to Small Victory for an intimate, classic cocktail experience or the Roosevelt Room for inventive craft cocktails and a gorgeous upstairs lounge. Or head to the fabulous garden courtyard lounge at the Hotel San Jose, a South Congress Hotel. If you are a beer lover, check out Easy Tiger, which is a bakery by day and creekside beer garden by night, or Craft Pride, which has a ton of Texas craft beers on tap.

And for a killer view reminiscent of Italy, we recommend The Oasis on Lake Travis, which is the largest outdoor restaurant in Texas and is known as the Sunset Capital of Texas! Go for the view and a margarita or cocktail to drink in the Texas sunset!

And, if you are staying a few extra days in Austin to explore and enjoy the city, schedule a food tour with Austin Eats!

Is Sole-Provider the Best Option?

By Michael Feit | Sole Provider , White Papers

The sole-provider option is not for every firm, and largely depends on your firm’s legal practices, recovery rates, contract pricing, and usage. While the option may not be the right decision for every firm, an evaluation of the sole-provider option is necessary for law firm administrators.

The idea of transitioning to sole-provider can be daunting, considering the many individuals and processes that might be impacted. There are a great number of elements to examine, from contracts to content, not to mention the strong reactions of users to fundamental system changes.

Whether or not a firm chooses to go sole-provider, the evaluation in itself provides an opportunity for a firm to review, revise and refine its legal information strategy and potentially save significant money. In a secret pricing market, knowledge is power. Knowing to what extent the sole-provider option is viable for your firm can serve as great leverage in contract negotiations.

Feit Consulting’s Sole Provider Viability Decision Guide walks legal information administrators through the pre-decision process, and lays out the groundwork necessary for informed decision-making. Learn more about this resource here.