Back by popular demand! The CCCA has partnered again this year with Richard Stock of Catalyst Consulting to offer the Law Department Effectiveness Series. This series of six webinars will cover an array of topics integral to the effectiveness of law departments. 

Whether you are responsible for or a member of a small or a large team, and operate in the public or private sector, these sessions will provide the strategies and tools you need to contribute to your organization.

You can register for each course individually or take advantage of bundle pricing for all six webinars and receive a certificate of completion. Better still, the webinars can be completed live or on-demand to suit your busy schedule.

Full series: $250 (members); $350 (non-members)

Individual sessions $50 (members); $75 (non members)

Law departments and in-house counsel need to be better focused. They must deploy their resources differently if they are to leverage their unique position as professionals and as intellectual capital in the organization. This session looks at how the department can improve its effectiveness under five themes:

• Why planning is critical for the law department but plans are not
• Moving from operational support to strategic business advisor
• The five critical competencies for in-house counsel
• Strategic partnering with external counsel
• Getting business done – why results are more important than process

Materials include the presentation and 2 articles.  

In-house counsel have seen an increase of 11% in the length of their work week over the last two years. Law departments must take specific measures and be more selective about the work they do and how it is managed. By improving productivity, the department will have more time to be more effective in practice management. This session covers:

• Managing client expectations and service levels – work intake and allocation
• Forecasting demand for legal services by category, complexity and client
• Practical business plans for the law department
• Changing service delivery structures and processes
• Using satisfaction surveys
• Proficiency with new competencies for in-house counsel at all levels

Materials include the presentation, 2 articles and 2 templates.  

Law departments have difficulty communicating the value they provide to the organization unless they have solid performance data. Key performance indicators (KPIs) must capture the developmental and strategic contributions of the department in a measurable fashion. This session covers:

• Changing the organization’s expectations of the law department
• Selecting corporate KPIs that align with the law department
• Using scorecards and dashboards that make sense
• Moving from managing risk to helping make business decisions quickly and intelligently
• Selecting effective KPIs and initiatives/actions for the law department
• Communicating the value of the law department

Materials include the presentation and 2 articles.  

It is no longer a leading practice to source external counsel based only on relationships and bilateral discussions. There are recognized, straightforward and effective ways to secure value from law firms that balance competence, coverage and cost. This session examines five components:

• What data and preparation are essential
• Matching staffing distributions with complexity and categories of work
• RFPs and invitations for strategic partnering
• Legal project plans and budgets for individual matters
• Measuring the results

Materials include the presentation, 3 articles

Three of the profitability variables for law firms are rates, leverage and number of hours billed. Clients need predictability in legal fees for individual matters as well as annual budgets. Trade literature suggests the cost of external counsel rose by 10% to 15% in 2022 and will continue to increase significantly over the next two years. This session covers:

• What law departments must understand about legal economics and how to influence costs
• Why price is more important than rates
• Blended rates as the building block for AFAs
• Hybrid fees, fixed fees and fees for performance and innovation
• Getting external counsel off the clock

Materials include the presentation and 4 articles.  

Recent innovation in law departments tends to be more about processes and less about getting business done. Many believe that innovation is too complex and time consuming, that the pain is not worth the gain. In addition, compensation for in-house counsel does not generally encourage innovation. This session covers:

• Steps to increase client self-sufficiency
• Replacing the “lawyer as the artist” solo practitioner
• Two types of law department innovation
• Critical processes and structures to drive innovation
• Innovation and strategic impact as KPIs

Materials include the presentation and 3 articles.

About the speaker 

Richard Stock, M.A., FCG, CMC, is the Managing Partner of Catalyst Consulting. He has been working with lawyers for more than 35 years and is now in his 29th year as a legal services management consultant. Richard is a frequent speaker at conferences and publishes in both Canadian Lawyer In House and Legal Business World (Amsterdam). He has completed engagements for law departments in Canada, the US, Australia, the Middle East and Europe since 1994.

Catalyst Consulting www.catalystlegal.com has specialized in working with law departments around the world since 1994. The principal focus of its engagements is on business strategy and plans for law departments, demand forecasting, management of workloads and workflows, law department performance, cost management with external counsel, and the relationship of in-house counsel with their clients. Catalyst Consulting was the CCCA’s Preferred Provider for Law Department Consulting for 18 years. The firm has advised more than 350 law departments in the corporate and public sectors. Catalyst Consulting was the 2021 winner of the Buying Legal Council’s Legal Procurement Innovation Award.