Tag Archives for " changes "

If your firm is going sole provider, do you have a change management roadmap to guide the process?

By Michael Feit | Sole Provider

With the majority of firms already making the choice to retain just one vendor, the market has proven that firms don’t need both Lexis and Westlaw to operate successfully. Until a decade ago, more than 85% of law firms had both Lexis and Westlaw. The vendors offered products with a lot of unique content, making it justifiable to have both. Additionally, approximately 90% of costs associated with online research were passed through to clients.

Since the 2008 recession, recovery rates have dropped to 36%, overall usage is down and continuing to decline, and Lexis and Westlaw products have become quite similar. While there is still some unique content, it is not enough to justify firms retaining both. And, fortunately, there are many workarounds to alleviate concerns about lost content.

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. Lexis and Westlaw have both successfully infiltrated law firms’ cultures and infrastructures over their many years of service.

Feit Consulting offers a variety of resources to help firms and organizations transition to sole provider. Firms and organizations can engage with Feit Consulting to provide project management direction, tools and resources to implement the change from two provider to one provider, or for some firms and organizations – flipping from one vendor to the other vendor. Feit Consulting will evaluate your specific needs to determine our role and pricing that is customized to your firm’s needs.

Flipping vendors or eliminating a vendor can provide substantial savings, however this process requires an intense amount of time and planning. Let Feit Consulting guide your firm or organization through the process. Contact Feit Consulting today to set up an initial consultation with our team of experts.

30% of the Market is Still Paying Too Much

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting , Legal Information Trends , Pricing , Sole Provider , Vendors

“As a person who has watched this industry for over 17 years; it is amazing and frustrating to see that 30% of the market is still paying way too much.” -Michael Feit

Prices for Westlaw and Lexis grew astronomically from the late 90’s up until the 2008 due to usage growing so fast.  After 2008, 30% of the market said it cannot afford to cover the costs of online research – not being able to pass off the full costs to clients.

Some firms were successful in getting concessions from both Westlaw/Lexis. However, in 2010 the Sole Provider trend emerged. Many firms started to move forward and eliminate either Westlaw or Lexis.

Right now; 55% of large law firms have one or the other.  Of the 45% of firms that continue to have both Lexis and Westlaw, 20% have threatened to eliminate a vendor….or have eliminated a vendor but then took them back at best of market pricing.

Currently,  25-30% of market are still overpaying by greater than 50-100% of mid-market pricing (per Feit’s Benchmarks).  Is your firm getting the best market pricing?  Click here to get more information from our experts.

2018 Changes & Projects for Improving Your Bottom Line

By Michael Feit | Benchmarking , Best Practices , Feit Consulting

Return on Investment (ROI): For some firms and organizations, the law library can seem like a large expense without full trackablity of the value it offers. Some firms and organizations use it as a cost center. However, there are ways to enhance return on investment beyond general reporting. Not to negate reporting because we do highly recommend it. Here are other ways to provide ROI for your law library.

Billing Title Change: Changing the billing title of one or all of the Library staff can be a simple fix to passing on their research time to clients.

Modern Library Audit: A Modern Library Audit provides a current assessment of where your law library is today, and based on your unique firm’s or organization’s situation, what opportunities exist for transforming and streamlining workflow. Feit Consulting conducts Modern Library Audits for firms and organizations. This encompasses our team of experts completing an assessment of usage, processes and technology use. We provide a full business case with clear recommendations, specific to your firm and organization. Recommendations provided highlight the impact on your bottom line. No two law libraries are alike, nor are the solutions and services needed for optimizing use and value.

Start the Negotiation Process Early: Time is a huge advantage in the legal information contract negotiation process. Providing an adequate amount of time to begin the process can mean the difference of thousands of dollars for the firm/organization. Assess value early, Get quotes early.

Benchmark Your Contracts: When was the last time you had your contracts benchmarked by an outside firm? Your firm or organization may have the strongest negotiators in the industry but without the knowledge of where your contract stands in the market, you have no foundation to start from.

Revisit your Legal Information Strategy: Don’t wait till the last minute to negotiate (Plan ahead post) – Look at Sole provider playbook report and blog posts.

Collection Audit: Is your portfolio of resources serving your constituents fully? We have clients to sign a new contract year over year without assessing the use and value to users because the price tag is not significant. These small items can add up. Take the time to review your collection. If you don’t’ have the time, hire an outside consulting firm like Feit Consulting. With a little investment of time and money, you could be saving thousands over the years to come.

Interested in learning more about what Feit can do for your firm, contact us today for an initial consultation.

What happened in 2017?

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations , Feit Consulting , Librarians , Resources , Sole Provider , Vendors

Westlaw and Lexis continued to see their market share erode due to firms eliminating one or the other vendors as the Sole Provider trend continues. Lexis is now starting to become victorious where previously Westlaw has dominated the market.  What is interesting is the rate at which firms choosing Lexis to Westlaw has increased.

Lexis really stepped it up in 2017.  By purchasing new companies and developing a suite of products. Lexis holds onto firms that might have canceled by allowing access to their exclusive suite of products, making it difficult for firms to exist without Lexis.  

Westlaw maintains legacy popularity but we find them priced too high in many places and firms cannot justify the astronomical price disparities. Firms are unhappy with Westlaw’s inexplicable pricing model and as a result, more firms are eliminating Westlaw more so than ever before.

BBNA had some success in 2017.  They have been breaking into firms that have phased out Westlaw or Lexis but for the most part they are more expensive than Westlaw/Lexis and firms are not interested spending that much money on an unproven product.  

Westlaw/Lexis were very aggressive in going after firms that they had historically lost by giving firms they lost?  10-15% of firms that had previously canceled a vendor contract are “flipping” in order to get best in market vendor pricing, sometimes at 1/10th the price, and taking vendors back to these lower price points.

What does it mean to be a Modern Law Library?

By Michael Feit | Feit Consulting , Librarians , Modern Law Library , Resources

The Modern Library is a business within a business, utilizing metrics and analytics to forecast, predict and analyze data as changes occur. More than providing content, the Modern Law Library encompasses a proactive approach and mindset, developing new processes and collaborations to support the business of law. An important component to realizing a Modern Library is open-mindedness by both Administrators and the Library team.

To fully embrace the Modern Library approach, consider the following questions in your role with the Library (whether as a Librarian or an Administrator):

• What can I do differently to offer value to my organization and make them see me and my library in a new way?
• How can I change my habits to actually facilitate change?
• How can I move out of my mindset of but we have always done it that way?
• How can I change the way I work with various departments, my Administrator, my Librarian to support the business of law in an improved, more efficient way?

While law firms have always depended on library and information professionals to support the research needs of their lawyers, the Modern Law Library is undergoing a paradigm shift. Success now depends on the library taking a more active role in the organization, to help support the day-to-day business of law. One such way is providing interdepartmental support.

A few examples of this include:

• Embracing new roles in Conflicts Support for new business intake.
• Partnering with Marketing to provide competitive intelligence to support the RFP process.
• Partnering with IT to identify and beta-test software.
• Driving Knowledge Management.

Becoming a Modern Law Library is not done overnight, or in a week or month. It is complex and includes many little steps in order for a Law Library to modernize. In sum, the Modern Law Library is a trendsetter, evaluating and embracing new techniques, ideas and technology to help support business processes.

Feit Consulting offers Modern Library Audits, examining and recommending changes to save the firm/organization money, improve efficiencies, and maximize utilization of resources. Contact Feit Consulting today to set up a free consultation on modernizing your Law Library today.

Troubles for Thomson?

By Michael Feit | Legal Information Trends

Despite immense popularity, firms are no longer tolerating the price disparity between Westlaw and Lexis. Lexis has turned a corner. They have been buying up a lot of exciting new products.

Lexis is offering Westlaw preferred firms an array of products, a suite at a price that is a percentage of Westlaw comparables. Westlaw’s stronghold is waning as firms learn to develop work arounds for alternative Lexis product offerings.

Before, firms did not have the wherewithal nor time to combat attorney pushack. Recovery rates continue to diminish, leaving less dollars in the firm’s pocket. We now see firms taking the time to plan ahead to consider eliminating a vendor. This adequate planning is allowing for smoother transition and substantial savings to the firm. As we see larger firms make the transition to having Lexis solely, we project the trend to increase more rapidly.

If your firm or organization is interested in assessing whether vendor elimination is the optimal path, check out our step by step guide on the Sole Provider Viability Decision Guide. For a limited time, Feit Consulting is offering a special year-end price on this report. Click here to learn more.