Legal Awards 2020

Acquisition International - Legal Awards 2020 23 Aug20272 Best Legal Counsel Spend Management Consultancy - USA When done properly, request for proposals (RFPs) are one of the most vital tools in a legal counsel’s arsenal. Many people wrongly view these RFPs as nothing more than just a way for the procurement team to get better rates. However, the truth behind what RFPs can really offer is far greater than that. One firm focusing on these issues is RFP Advisory Group, a consulting company that specializes in request for proposals in the legal industry. Join us as we discover more about the firm and what it offers to clients. ince its foundation, RFP Advisory Group has provided consulting services to legal departments who are looking to issue an RFP as a tool to better manage outside counsel. The core mission of the firm has always been to help clients identify and partner with the right mix of legal service providers that get them the most value for the dollar. RFP Advisory Group works with legal departments to create a preferred panel of legal service providers, select a law firm for a specific matter or portfolio of work, or other legal spend optimization initiatives where the clients may be looking to reduce overall spend or convert to alternative fee arrangements. While RFPs have always been around in the legal industry, they have become increasingly more popular of late. This is because, when they are done properly, they work. While cost reduction and ensuring a client is getting the most value for their money is often part of the goal, an RFP also enables legal departments to compare law firms’ various approaches to many different subjects. These include legal expertise and industry experience, legal and staffing strategy, matter S management skills and budget adherence, technology and innovation, diversity and inclusion, and data protection and cybersecurity. Many law firms can look the same to consumers, but the RFP provides insight and data to help them with the decision- making process. What sets RFP Advisory Group apart and acts as a unique competitive advantage over other firms is the wealth of experience in both the buying and selling side of legal services. For example, some staff have spent upwards of twenty years in a variety of roles at law firms in the legal marketing, pricing, practice management, and operations departments. This blend of experience and insight allows the team at RFP Advisory Group to craft partnerships with law firms and legal departments that are mutually beneficial for all involved parties. Using those partnerships, the RFP then becomes a tool to help clients accomplish that goal of finding the right outside counsel to meet their business goals. In some cases, that means bringing in new legal service providers, but in others it may be using the same firms in a more cost-effective and operationally efficient manner. New software technology has made it a lot easier and quicker to issue and score an RFP. This allows legal departments the ability to issue matter-specific RFPs, and receive the results with a short turnaround time. Whilst the basic procurement principles have remained the same, the questions being asked are now smarter and more tailored to the legal industry, and require more strategic insight by the responding lawyer on the particular legal approach to the scope of work in the RFP. Pricing expectations have also changed with the times. RFP Advisory Group is now seeing more RFPs being used as a tool to move away from the traditional bill-by-the-hour model. Legal departments are expecting law firms to be able to offer a fixed fee, or some other type of hybrid or contingency-based billing model that has a shared risk and reward component. On top of that, more RFPs are prioritizing diversity as an important metric to use when allocating their work to outside counsel. Legal counsel want to know they are sending work to law firms that are socially responsible, and have a similar set of values. Ultimately, RFP Advisory Group is a firm that has firmly placed its clients and their legal needs at the heart of its service. By understanding and helping others to understand the world of RFPs and what they can accomplish, RFP Advisory Group has proven itself well worthy of its achievement in this years’ Legal Awards from Acquisition International. Company: RFP Advisory Group Contact: Matthew Prinn Website: https://rfpag.com/