Zurich to expand law firm scoring system

Insurance giant Zurich is looking to expand a scoring system of its external legal advisers, making it the second major Swiss institution to introduce a wide-ranging process to formally grade lawyers.

Zurich this week publicly stated it gives its law firms scores on around 10 criteria, including responsiveness, cost, billing promises and personalities. The system also judges how firms' performance compares with the claims they make in their marketing material.

The insurer now hopes to expand the process with an improved IT operation when former Barclays' head of corporate, Neil Hodges, steps into the role of UK general counsel later this year.

The company said the initiative, which was driven by a push from the group to bring its external legal counsel in line with the company's wider procurement policy, was designed to look at a wide range of factors, rather than just cost.

Zurich's current UK general counsel, James Butler, who is soon to retire, said: "Only one driver of this exercise is cutting costs. Information on a firm's attitudes to cost gives a good indication of a firm's efficiency."

Butler launched the process in the UK when the insurance giant set up its national panel last year and law firms Beachcroft, Bevan Brittan, Pinsent Masons and Shoosmiths were appointed.

The news follows the announcement earlier this month that Swiss banking giant UBS had launched an unusual programme to grade the performance of its legal advisers on seven areas including speed of work, quality of skills and cost.