Thanks to technology, the way in-house lawyers manage matters is slowly changing. But the way they engage external lawyers? Not so much.
According to a recent report released by Globality and The Lawyer Research Service, General Counsel in major international companies still rely overwhelmingly on personal connections when appointing law firms.
In a survey of over 300 General Counsel and other senior members of in-house teams in international companies in Europe, North America and the Asia Pacific, only 32% reported instructing firms beyond their own network.
Of the remaining 68%, 44% source providers from their own pre-existing relationships, 16% rely on referrals from their personal network, and 8% on referrals from existing outside counsel.
When asked to identify the factors that influence these engagement decisions, they cited sector breadth and expertise as being the most important, yet their hiring practices don’t reflect this.
So why the disconnect?
The easy answer is that in-house teams prefer to rely on their personal networks. However, the truth is that despite 85% of respondents being interested in technologies for sourcing and/or communicating with legal providers outside of their immediate networks, they struggle to identify ways to do so.
Far from being resistant to change, this data shows GCs are open to more strategic engagement methods. They’re just not sure where to find it.
Thankfully, the Australian marketplace is beginning to realise the possibilities technology-based legal procurement solutions can offer. More importantly, in-house teams are actively exploring available options, with a view to transforming their legal operations.
At Lawcadia, we believe this interest in exploring change is just the tip of the iceberg.
With the power of data at their fingertips, combined with platforms designed to streamline the engagement, project, matter and financial management process, in-house teams are poised to lead a technical revolution the likes of which the legal world has never seen.
We’re ready for the change – are you?
