Legal Week Intelligence’s (LWI’s) Client Satisfaction Survey underlines the dominance of the panel model among
In a related finding, the 180-page report — one of the most detailed snapshots of
The average number of advisers on respondents’ panels has fallen from seven in last year’s report to below five. Panels are also being enforced more rigorously, with three-quarters of clients reviewing their panels every two years, including nearly half that review counsel annually.
British Energy general counsel Robert Armour said: “Having too many firms on a panel loosens relationships and spreads things too thinly. You invest a lot in a panel exercise and I would rather invest in a lasting relationship.”
LWI’s fourth annual client report, based on interviews with 272 companies, also illustrates key trends in outsourcing of legal work. The average client outsources 51%-60% of its work to external advisers, a proportion that rises sharply among FTSE 350 and smaller clients.
With overall levels of legal work predicted to remain robust and corporate and banking continuing to take up a growing share of company workloads, the current growth areas are regulatory/compliance, competition and intellectual property. Regulatory and compliance issues in particular are highlighted as key concerns by the biggest-spending clients, cited by 38% of FTSE 100 respondents.
Peter Kennerley, Scottish & Newcastle’s general counsel, said: “Trying to keep up with legislation is expensive, whether you deal with it in-house or externally.”
Despite the healthy current levels of work, a significant number of companies report law firms falling below expectations. The poll suggests client satisfaction has fallen in five areas over the past year, with firms’ failure to improve partner accessibility cited as the biggest disappointment for in-house lawyers. The most important factors in selecting outside counsel are ranked as: quality of legal service; service delivery; quality of commercial advice; and responsiveness.
The report, which includes detailed rankings of law firms’ client service performance, also shows US-based firms, including Latham & Watkins, Jones Day and K&L Gates, beginning to make more impact with clients.
