Early results have been released this week by Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein, executive director at Buying Legal Council, an organisation for those working in procurement and sourcing legal services.
According to the organisations 2016 Legal Procurement Survey it is clear that in many companies, it has become common practice to involve a procurement function when selecting outside counsel.
According to Dr. Silverstein, “When we asked the question “In your organization, what level of legal services purchases does procurement influence?” The vast majority, 86%, answered they influence purchasing commoditized, routine legal services, such as debt collection, minor litigation, and non-complex contracts.
But just under half of survey respondents, 45%, influence the purchase of high-end complex/high-value legal services, such as high-stakes litigation. And 64% influence “bread and butter” legal services, those between high-end and commodities.” (Note: more than one answer to this question was possible.)
In summary is seems that very few legal services are left untouched by legal procurement in the US as companies seek to get more for less when it comes to their legal budgets. Given the current economic environment in Australia and indeed most of the world, it is very likely that this trend will be mirrored elsewhere which we believe will be beneficial for the legal market as a whole.
