Challenge
Customer needed to clean up rate sheets and structures in their ebilling system and implement a rate management programme.
- Customer’s existing ebilling system caused confusion, timekeeper rule application errors, and incorrect matter/rate application
- Customer’s in-house law department was being billed inconsistent rates across practice groups despite corporate-level agreements
- Customer had limited or zero visibility into rate negotiations between in-house staff and outside counsel
- Customer wanted to update their ebilling system with consistent rates, ensure AFAs and discounts were realised, and establish a rate management/negotiation programme
Solution
- Analyse customer rates for their entire portfolio of law firms to identify:
- Rate offer and structure consolidation
- Inconsistent billing rates
- Lack of enforcement of volume discounts
- Opportunities to create consistent rates or negotiate new rates for portfolio of law firm
- Create rate reports using analytics software for law firms for every practice area for benchmarking and reporting purposes
- Centralise rate negotiations with key operations personnel and adopt aggressive rate negotiation practices
- Launch rate management programme with rate negotiations for more than 75 law firms
