Key client body to rate outside advisers for value

The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) - the world's largest body for in-house lawyers - is to launch an innovative new venture to allow members to rate law firms on core factors such as value and quality of service.

The US-based body will on Tuesday (20 October) formally launch the venture, dubbed the ACC 'Value Index'.

A statement from the ACC said the index will "will allow ACC members to share ratings of law firms based on client satisfaction so that they can better meet company demands".

Companies taking part in the index will rate their law firms from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on the following criteria:

- understanding objectives and expectations;
- legal expertise;
- efficiency and process management;
- responsiveness and communication;
- predictable cost and budgeting skills; and
- results delivered and execution.

Participants will also be asked: "Would you hire this firm again?" The ACC said that its members will be able to browse or search the index "based on firm name, matter type, or office location".

The body has created a steering committee of senior lawyers including ACC president Frederick Krebs, ACC general counsel Susan Hackett and FMC Technologies legal head Jeffrey Carr (pictured above).

The ACC said the initiative was an "an instrument to help shape the thinking and dialogue between firms and in-house counsel about what constitutes 'good value' in legal services".

The index is the latest component in an ACC initiative that it calls the Value Challenge. In an interview with Corporate Counsel earlier this year, ACC general counsel Susan Hackett described the program as "an attempt to finally make some progress on a perennial problem, to systematically address the disconnect between the cost of legal service and the value of the services that are provided."

Hackett said: "Value from the corporate perspective means receiving a solution that addresses the client's problem - for an appropriate cost."

ACC will roll out the Value Index at its annual meeting, which starts today (19 October). in Boston. The group is the world's leading in-house Bar association, with more than 25,000 members around the world.

Follow complete coverage from the Association of Corporate Counsel's annual meeting in Boston on corpcounsel.com.

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