Tag Archives for " optimize "

Jan 30

Does your firm or organization need a Modern Library Audit?

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

If you are a Librarian or Administrator who has the mindset of continuous process improvement with the goal of optimizing resources (time and money), the Modern Library Audit provides concrete steps specific to your firm’s needs to achieve this.

In a Modern Library Audit, Feit Consulting’s team of experts conducts a thorough assessment of all legal information functions in the library and the support provided for various departments and practice groups. We evaluate the utilization of personnel, internal processes, technology, legal information resources and the overall support for the business of law.

From the assessment, we develop and present a plan to further modernize your Law Library. What this equates to is a solid plan with clear action steps and ROI for improving how your Law Library operates.

The Modern Law Library is not a destination but an approach to managing legal information resources. Even when a firm reaches the realm of modernizing their law library, changes will occur – internal and external to the firm – that affect the role of the Library and what it provides.

The result of a Modern Law Library Audit is a clear plan with recommendations specific to your firm/organization with the goal of saving money, improving efficiencies, and maximizing the utilization of resources.

If you are ready to take your Law Library to the next level, Feit Consulting’s Modern Library Audit provides a clear path forward. Contact a Feit Advisor today to set up an initial consultation and schedule your Audit.

Jan 16

When to benchmark your Legal Information Contracts

By Michael Feit | Benchmarking , Best Practices , Contract Negotiations , Feit Consulting , Legal Information Trends , 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.

However, 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 (benchmarking your contracts).

Allocating enough time to plan for negotiations is one element. Due to secret pricing, no one firm can truly know whether their contract is exceptional or fair without outside knowledge. Benchmarking your legal information contracts is a worthwhile exercise to understanding your starting place going into contract negotiations.

Feit Consulting has been a leader in optimizing legal information resources for firms since 2001.

Have your legal information contracts benchmarked by Feit Consulting, and receive a firm-specific benchmark. Alternatively, Feit Consulting’s white paper, Optimizing Legal Information Pricing shares Feit’s market benchmarks on Spend Per Attorney, Discounts and more.

Contact Feit Consulting today to get started.

Jan 12

How Timing Impacts Your Legal Information Pricing

By Michael Feit | Contract Negotiations

Negotiating an expensive legal-information contract requires more than a few conversations with the vendor. If you want the most value for your buck, allocate the appropriate amount of time to evaluate your resources. Assess usage, content redundancies on other vendor products, practice group or firm size changes–to name just a few.

Many firms give themselves just three months or so to work on their next round of legal-information contracts. Whenever possible, however, it is best to allocate more time for planning and evaluating the real value of legal-information resources. The vendors will have their own timeline. However, your timeline should be much longer to account for resource evaluation prior to the start of vendor negotiations.

With 3+ year contracts, the deadlines can seem to immediately appear without realizing the time left to prepare. 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 can help your firm navigate the complexities of these important vendor negotiations. Feit Consulting partners with firms to strategize and obtain optimal contract pricing and terms. Learn more about our consulting services here.

Dec 05

Resources Offering ROI

By Michael Feit | Legal Information Trends , Resources

In 2016, Feit Consulting launched the Market Trends Legal Information Series. The Series is composed of white papers and survey results on pertinent topics in the legal information arena. The Series was launched with our report on Westlaw & Lexis: Path to Commoditization discussing the historical pricing and strategies of these vendors, and detailed insights to where the legal information market is heading.

Another hot topic is the sole provider trend. In January 2017, Feit Consulting released The Sole Provider Playbook and the Sole Provider Viability Decision Guide. These resources provide more than a high-level discussion about the trend. These resources can be used by firms and organizations as how-to guides, walking them through the process of evaluating, assessing, and implementing change. Out hope is that more firms will take on a proactive approach to evaluating the option, not waiting to the last minute when their hands are tied by the vendor. We want to provide firms and organizations with tools, concrete steps for making the best decision for their legal information strategy and bottom line.

This past summer, Feit Consulting released Optimizing Legal Information Pricing. A unique resource offering Feit Consulting’s view of pricing in the market. This is an excellent resource for getting a general sense of how your firm or organization’s contracts measure up. Feit Consulting can also conduct personalized benchmarking for your firm or organization.  This is highly recommended for anyone who has not received a Lexis or Westlaw price adjustment since 2008.

In developing these reports, we utilized surveys and conducted one-on-one interviews with experts in the field to provide comprehensive resources. What we heard over and over again from firms and organizations who purchased these reports has been how impressed they are with the wealth of knowledge and detail provided.

Whether you have unused funds for 2017, or want to get head of the game for anticipated 2018 projects, the Market Trends Legal Information Series provides a wealth of knowledge, guidance and processes for ROI of your legal information portfolio. Contact Feit today for year-end special pricing. Click here to learn more about all the reports and surveys we offer.

Jul 11

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.

Jul 11

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.