Performance plans provide the structure and content to evaluate preferred law firms. Plans and related metrics – responsiveness, results, efficiency, total legal spend, and unit costs – should be embedded in terms of engagements and multi-year partnering agreements. These metrics are typical and supplemented by targets and specific initiatives.

This is a collection of 15 articles and case studies regarding external counsel and costs. They address scoping, budgeting, pricing with alternative fee arrangements, and linking law firm performance to legal fees. Three articles address sourcing legal services: managing the legal supply chain; negotiating with law firms; and seven critical steps for a new deal.

Successfully reducing legal spend in 2023 cannot take the form of a race to the bottom of the barrel for lower hourly rates. Seven critical steps are described: Secure 2 years’ worth of detailed data from law firms; prepare a multi-year forecast of requirements for external counsel; innovate in configuring primary and other firms by region with longer-term commitments; ensure Legal and Procurement professionals are proficient in non-hourly arrangements; apply optimal staffing patterns to individual matters; evaluate firms every 6 months against 4 KPIs; and have the CLO sign-off on a written project plan to implement the 6 previous steps.