May 17, 2024

LDO Index shows cost control still occupying the minds of corporate law department leaders: Podcast

LDO Index shows cost control still occupying the minds of corporate law department leaders: Podcast

In a new podcast, we focus on the current “LDO Index” report to determine what is utmost on the minds of corporate legislation departments’ operational leaders as they appear to the yr in advance

Controlling prices within their company regulation division is chief in the minds of legal functions experts this 12 months, according to the Thomson Reuters Institute’s Authorized Department Functions (LDO) Index, introduced in mid-October.

Despite charge handle becoming top rated of intellect, however, executing on this purpose is no imply feat.

In a new Thomson Reuters Institute Insights podcast, available on the Thomson Reuters Institute channel, we go over what the LDO Index, an annual seem at the state of affairs within just company lawful departments from those people professionals tasked with controlling the functions, says about section leaders’ contemplating in the recent setting. This year’s report compiled a large array of responses from 107 different corporations, from smaller companies to all those producing in surplus of $10 billion in once-a-year income.

As the podcast seems into the crucial findings of the Index report, it sheds terrific gentle on in which legislation office leaders are looking at their biggest issues and alternatives. For illustration, the Index report confirmed that make a difference volumes are growing for the broad majority of responding legislation departments, even as they cope with flat budgets.



Without a doubt, few legislation departments report incorporating lawyer headcount. The conclude end result is a problem exactly where possibly the only solution to offer with the growing workload is to ship more function to outdoors legal counsel, even as these exterior law firms go on to raise fees.

Once again, as mentioned in the podcast, this is not an uncomplicated circumstance for company legislation departments to control.

To assistance get rid of some gentle on some of the ache points as very well as achievable methods, the Thomson Reuters Institute Insights podcast invited a panel of specialists to be part of us from between the membership of the Legal Value Network (LVN), which partnered on the LDO Index. The Authorized Benefit Network is a group of experts with the mission to accelerate evolution in the lawful marketplace, connecting business of law professionals from across the lawful market who are centered on designing, making, and applying revolutionary versions of lawful services supply.

In this week’s podcast, we communicate to:

  • Alexandra Guajardo, a pricing an analytics officer with Shell’s lawful operations crew. With her 20 several years of encounter in the authorized business, Guajardo functions as the proper hand of the lawful ops crew at Shell.
  • Justin Ergler, director of option charge intelligence and analytics at GlaxoSmithKline. An outspoken critic of the billable hour, Ergler has founded himself as a assumed leader and expert in the use of substitute fee arrangements for complex authorized matters.
  • Keith Maziarek, director of pricing and lawful undertaking administration at Katten Muchin Rosenman. Bringing his 20 years’ knowledge focusing on strategic growth and profitability initiatives, Maziarek seeks to carry the voice of the client into his firm and assists guide company tactic toward sustained profitability.

As the podcast illuminates, how company regulation departments command fees is an included and complicated subject, with virtually innumerable needed factors. This podcast attributes a excellent dialogue from the two the in-household and law company facet of the equation and in performing so, reaches a critical summary: No make a difference which techniques a corporation or law agency may perhaps determine to take, three items are indispensable — transparency, conversation, and trusting associations.

Without the need of individuals, controlling prices will turn out to be significantly much more hard, if not an unachievable activity.


For much more from the Lawful Price Community, you can comply with their podcast, Off the Clock

Episode transcript.