Business & Financial Management

As we approach the end of the year, it is often a time for reflection, thankfulness, and predictions for the following year.  With ILTA, I am personally thankful for the terrific, high quality organization and a phenomenal conference where I learned a great deal about how others were solving similar problems to those I was facing.  At conference, I caught up with many old friends and made many new ones.  I am also grateful for the programming opportunities offered throughout the year both as a consumer of information and as a contributor. 

No year-end is complete without a few predictions though.  In the spirit of that tradition, the Business and Financial Management peer group merrily offers you 12 days of Business and Financial Management as a part of our spotlight month this December.  Between now and December 20^th, our steering committee will wish you a festive and joyful holiday season enriched with tips, best practices, and predictions that may come in handy as you ring in the new year.  We encourage you to offer your own and to comment upon ours.

This year saw a significant jump in the amount of contact and collaboration with the increasing populations of corporate procurement and legal project management professionals.  We also saw this collaboration reflected in the ILTA conference sessions and in the composition of this steering committee.   Rather than disrupting the relationship-driven nature of legal business as some feared, these professionals offered another opportunity to deepen our relationships and work together to solve the client’s needs.  My first prediction is significant growth in collaboration in 2014 as additional companies regard these professionals as strategic to negotiating appropriate fee arrangements and achieving exceptional value while adhering to law department budgets. 

My second prediction is that 2014 will see increased adoption of legal project management by both law firms and law departments alike.  Law departments in some of the largest companies have already hired legal project management professionals to overhaul both internal law department practices, but also expectations and integration with outside counsel.  The number of RFPs that ask about a law firm’s project management capabilities and infrastructure is on the rise.  Another indication came from BTI’s 2014 Litigation Outlook, which found that many corporate counsel expect litigation to increase significantly, but costs to remain flat.  They believe early case assessments, smarter settlement decisions, appropriate fee arrangements, and legal project management will enable this.  With those pressures in mind, increasing numbers of firms are investing in training and tools to meet those expectations.