Most legal departments use discounted hourly rates, survey finds

Capped fees and blended hourly rates are less common, though larger in-house teams more frequently deploy a variety of billing approaches.

By Lyle Moran • July 11, 2023

Is AI a friend or foe for legal teams?

Corporate legal departments and law firms can adopt best practices to manage the inherent risk of AI in legal work and get the most benefit from this incendiary technology.

By Shana Simmons • June 28, 2023

Economics factor into litigation decisions, GCs say

Even meritorious cases won’t be pursued if a company is clinging to cash, paving the way for risk-sharing by outside law firms or litigation funders, a general counsel survey finds.

By Robert Freedman • June 26, 2023

Companies’ legal spend has risen nearly 30%, survey finds

The largest businesses have spurred the significant spending uptick, which experts said was driven in part by increased regulation and law firm rate hikes.

By Lyle Moran • June 16, 2023

Companies hit back by trying to unmask patent troll funders

Defendants such as Shopify try to use discovery to hammer plaintiffs who rely on financial backers to drive patent infringement lawsuits.

By Robert Freedman • June 13, 2023

Don’t let outside counsel fee discussions veer into unauthorized practice of law, ABA says

Law firm assistants can talk about fees generally but not when they’re tied specifically to the scope of work, an American Bar Association opinion says.

By Robert Freedman • June 12, 2023

FTX’s legal team has its hands full

The bankrupt crypto exchange is fighting court battles on multiple fronts, and former CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s attorneys say the U.S. government is overdue to supply electronic discovery in its case against him.

By Gabrielle Saulsbery • June 8, 2023

Mayer Brown has launched a Technology GC in Residence program

Experienced legal chief Beth Stevens said she had a very positive and educational experience as the inaugural participant in the law firm’s new initiative.

By Lyle Moran • June 7, 2023

How to seek discounts on outside counsel fees

Negotiating rate freezes and exercising billing discipline are other approaches legal operations pros can take in hopes of reducing legal spend.

By Robert Freedman • June 5, 2023

‘Wave’ of litigation expected as schools fight social media companies

Districts are joining a complaint against Meta, Snapchat, TikTok and YouTube, but some doubt the firms can be blamed for teens’ mental health struggles.

By Kara Arundel • June 1, 2023

Federal judge seeks to prevent generative AI mistakes in briefs

The Texas jurist’s mandatory certification regarding AI use highlights that the latest technology can “make stuff up” and introduce bias.

By Lyle Moran • June 1, 2023

M&A deals require largest outside counsel teams

Law firm work on commercial, employment and IP matters typically results in fewer billing attorneys comparatively, a LexisNexis report found.

By Lyle Moran • May 26, 2023

Largest law firms claimed nearly 50% of U.S. legal work in 2022

Partners at the 50 top firms charged more than $900 an hour on average, as rates rose across all firm sizes and practice areas.

By Lyle Moran • May 24, 2023

Louisiana bill would require litigation funding disclosure

If passed, Louisiana would join New Jersey and Wisconsin in targeting the growing use of outside funding.

By Robert Freedman • May 24, 2023

Generating outside counsel savings from disallowed costs

Billing discipline can drop as law firms work on long-term engagements. Using a billing tool with clear guidelines can get that discipline back on track.

By Robert Freedman • May 17, 2023

Using litigation funding for ESG credit

In-house legal teams are tapping Burford Capital’s Equity Project to finance legal matters and at the same time help their company get ESG credit.

By Robert Freedman • May 14, 2023

Partner eyes smarter GC engagement now that he’s been one himself

Winston & Strawn’s Dane Drobny, who oversaw legal at Sears and Groupon, says he has new ideas about what GCs should expect from outside counsel.

By Robert Freedman • May 11, 2023

Debunking the top 7 myths about interim attorney work

Interim work can provide inroads to legal skills, practice areas and industries that an individual wouldn’t have easy access to otherwise.

By Nina Houston and Thom Burke • May 10, 2023

Law firms raised rates 5.5% to start 2023

The rate increases among Am Law 100 firms were even higher and set a new record, helping law firms increase profitability. 

By Lyle Moran • May 9, 2023

In-house teams expect law firms to use legal analytics

Law departments want to see outside counsel provide the kind of hard numbers on litigation outcomes and pricing inputs that require data crunching, a survey shows.

By Robert Freedman • May 4, 2023

Last-minute settlement took Dominion’s co-lead attorney by surprise

Stephen Shackelford of Susman Godfrey draws a straight line from the agreement with Fox to Tucker Carlson’s firing even though that was not one of the terms. 

By Robert Freedman • May 2, 2023

How CrowdStrike’s use of an ALSP shifted legal team’s mindset

After partnering with Factor on workflows, members of the cyber company’s in-house department started viewing their work through a more operational lens.

By Lyle Moran • May 1, 2023

How to draft fee-shifting provisions in indemnification clauses

Delaware courts have determined that even quite broad language referencing attorneys’ fees may not be explicit enough to shift fees in first-party litigation. 

By Heather Benzmiller Sultanian and Jarrett H. Gross • April 26, 2023

How PwC will use generative AI to assist with legal work

The global firm’s use of Harvey.ai is expected to help in the areas of due diligence, regulatory compliance and contract analysis.

By Lyle Moran • April 25, 2023

Using litigation funding to increase certainty in outside counsel spend

General counsel can reduce budget volatility by partnering with a firm that can cover overages from unexpected lawsuit costs, a finance executive says.  

By Robert Freedman • April 20, 2023