Category Archives for "Resources"

FEIT Consulting will be attending AALL; we want to know what our clients want to know!

By Michael Feit | Associations , Events , Modern Law Library

It will be a whirlwind few days of educational events, starting with the PLLIP Summit 2017: Nexus of Knowledge and Legal Tech. Always a one-day intensive experience, the summit, now in its seventh year, will once again provide an offering described as “thought-provoking insight and practical application to the private law librarian community”.

The summit examines the rapid pace of change in legal technology and how information professionals can leverage that change in their organizations. This is of particular interest to FEIT Consulting as we work on our upcoming white paper, Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Law Library. Summit panelists will explore how reporting up to the CIO has redefined the way librarians are viewed in their organizations and provides leverage for library innovation.

While choosing from the multitude of program offerings will be difficult, we want to attend programs on issues where clients look to us for solutions. What exactly is the role of outsourcing in the modern library? Does it have a place, and how exactly do we approach the so-called “elephant in the room” when our legal administrators bring up the topic? Interdepartmental cooperation and leveraging librarian value are hot topics and certainly have a role in the Modern Library.
We are also focused on the basics:
– Showcasing value of the library to upper management
– Developing a budget that allows you to achieve your strategic goals
– Understanding the library’s ROI for value and strategic purposes

It will be an exhilarating week as we attend informative sessions, go to fun events, and network with clients and peers. For Feit Consulting, we will be excited to share our library modernization survey at the conference. Looking forward to seeing you in Austin!

Is it smart to go co-terminus?

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations , Pricing , White Papers

This question comes up often. Most often the answer is yes. Making contracts co-terminus can be an excellent strategic tactic for contract comparisons and creating negotiation leverage. It can also be advantageous to have multiple products expire at the same time to simply better align resources. Having several products in play during a negotiation cycle typically allows the firms to strategically approach negotiations from multiple angles. Additionally, the more a firm is purchasing at one time from a vendor, the greater that firm’s purchasing power.

To make your firm co-terminus, you may need to extend existing contracts. But before extending, it is important to understand fully what the extension entails. What is the cost/benefit of extending? Make sure it is worthwhile based on your firm’s legal information strategy and cost ramifications.

Learn more about preparing for your upcoming legal information contract negotiations with Feit Consulting’s white paper, Optimizing Legal Information Pricing.

Throwback Thursday

By Michael Feit | Vendors , White Papers

Flashback to 1994 when the “customer is always right”. The online legal information market was so much fun to be a part of during the mid-nineties, for both vendors and law firms. Law firms loved their vendors. In the go-go 90’s, everything was great. The market was super-charged everywhere.

By 1994, 95% of large law firms had both Lexis and Westlaw. Usage and revenue was increasing 20-75% annually. Firms enjoyed the “customer is always right” philosophy that both vendors embraced. Customer feedback was respected and encouraged. With costs being passed through to firms’ clients, it was a period of mutual admiration.

The competition between Westlaw and Lexis was fierce on all fronts. Both products were continually and rapidly enhancing with tremendous ongoing innovation. The products became more complete, with deeper and more archival content sets.

Healthy competition spurred each vendor to strive to match and surpass the other in content functionality. Lexis was favored for news and information, while Westlaw was favored for litigation. One vendor would announce a new feature, only to be matched and outdone by the other.

As growth accelerated and prices increased, the vendors worked even harder to ensure costs would not become a concern to law firms. Vendors created very successful programs to instruct firms on how best to develop and maintain strong online cost recovery.

It was a true win-win relationship for the vendors, law firms, and the lawyers.

Feit Consulting’s white paper, Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization tracks the progression of these two vendors and provides a future outlook. Learn more here.

Timing Is Important

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations , White Papers

Obviously, the timeline for negotiating is dictated by contract expirations. With 3+ year contracts, the deadlines can seem to immediately appear without realizing the time left to prepare. Allowing for adequate time to prepare for contract negotiations is necessary to achieve optimal pricing and terms for the correct content needed by the firm.

It is recommended to allow for 2+years to develop and execute a well-planned legal information resource strategy. By doing so, there is time for gaining management buy-in, diffusing potential pushback, developing work-arounds for lost resources, conducting trials of new products, and holding ongoing trainings.

Learn more about preparing for contract negotiations to achieve optimal pricing in Feit Consulting’s latest white paper Optimizing Legal Information Pricing.

Paradigm Shift for Legal Information Professionals

By Michael Feit | Librarians , White Papers

The concept of library modernization is more than downsizing space, cancelling print and right-sizing resources. It is a paradigm shift in the way law librarians and knowledge managers assess and deliver services within their organizations. As clients demand efficiency of services and lower costs, firms have been forced to take a closer look at how they themselves do business.

The role of library services within firms has shifted. No longer passively waiting for requests for assistance, librarians have taken on the role of innovator and change agent as they assist their organizations in assessing and creating information strategies to improve workflow and cut expense. Librarians have become interdepartmental collaborators taking on new roles in competitive intelligence, client intake and knowledge management, to name a few. Staffing models run the gamut from embedded researchers in practice groups to outsourced services. And as library responsibilities continue to evolve, so do the core competencies demanded of library staff.

In Feit Consulting’s future white paper, Beyond Virtualization: Transforming the Modern Library, our team of experts will discuss challenges and opportunities as well as the various approaches to the changing role librarians can play in the context of the modern library.

Click here to learn more about this upcoming resource.

Value does not automatically increase 3-5% annually “just because”!

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations , Pricing , White Papers

Value does not automatically increase 3-5% annually for every product “just because”! To pay increases annually, it would be expected that the firm is receiving more value, content or features than the year before. Complacency or lack of diligence in managing information resources can have long-lasting unfavorable implications on both processes and costs, thereby hampering overall efficiency.

Feit Consulting’s Optimizing Legal Information Pricing shares steps for evaluating the value of your firm’s legal information resources, and arms decision makers with the necessary knowledge and leverage for negotiations. Feit Consulting’s benchmarks provide context for assessing the favorability of your contracts compared to the market.

Click here to learn more.