New industry benchmark survey for in-house legal departments

The Forbes Institute has teamed up with a group of consultants internationally to produce a new global benchmarking report for legal departments based on industry sectors.

The Forbes Institute is responsible for the CEE region and this questionnaire is very brief – only 12 questions! – so it will not take much of your time.

You do not have to pay any fee to participate. And if you answer all 12 questions by 28 February you will receive a free electronic copy of the results in April 2010.

The report will include global, regional and where applicable, benchmarks and analysis for your country, with more than 20 charts and tables for your industry.

This survey is anonymous and only aggregated data will be published. I ask for your contact information so that I can send you a free copy of the report when it is finished.

Only the head of the in-house legal department is allowed to complete this questionnaire and only one company per country. Your company must also have revenue of at least 10 million USD annually.

The deadline to participate is 28 February in order to receive free benchmarks and analysis. If you participate after this date you will have to pay a fee to receive the results.

You can download the questionnaire here and send it back to me by email.

Or you can go online to fill it in at: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/LegalDepartmentSurveyPublicAccess

General counsel in Russia ride out the storm
 
Stephen Polakoff is general counsel to one of Russia’s newest energy players – Integra Group. He tells Jeffrey Forbes that his company and others in Russia had some hard decisions.

Read this fascinating and in-depth interview that was published in the January issue of The European Lawyer. Download the article here.

General counsels think right about the price
 
The economic downturn has made GC in Europe more price-sensitive. But what is new is how fixed-price billing is affecting both in-house counsel and their external law firms.

Jeffrey Forbes was invited to write the guest editorial column for the January 2010 issue of European GC. You can download the January issue here.

Polish in-house counsel differ on how they approach billing

Before the economic crisis, Polish in-house counsel took the opposite approach, to their colleagues in CEE regarding fixed price billing. Now they too are more worried about costs.

Jeffrey Forbes explains in the Dec/Jan 2010 issue of Top Legal International how in-house counsel in Poland compared with their colleagues in the CEE region based upon data gathered for the landmark 2008 survey*. Download the article here.

(* How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel conducted by the Forbes Institute in 2008)

Local firms in CEE look to establish best friends networks

Some of the larger or more adventurous local firms in CEE are looking to position themselves as being more international by setting up or joining best friends networks for referrals.

Jeffrey Forbes comments in the Dec/Jan 2010 issue of Top Legal International that this may be a smart marketing move for some firms, particularly in CIS, but doubts that there will be a stampede of such firms in the region promoting such networks. Download the article here.

Russian lawyers risk overlooking the priorities of company legal departments

Throughout the CEE region more than 90% of in-house counsel* want more predictable legal expenses. In Russia, 64% preferred a fixed fee, compared with 53% for the region.

Jeffrey Forbes explains in the November 2009 issue of Top Legal International how in-house counsel in Russia compared with their colleagues in the CEE region based upon data gathered for the landmark 2008 survey*. Download the article here.

(* According to the survey conducted by the Forbes Institute in 2008: How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel)

Special presentation at IBA Law Firm Management conference in Moscow

Jeffrey Forbes will be at the IBA Law Firm Management conference in Moscow (19-20 November 2009) and make the first public presentation of previously unpublished data from a new survey with heads of legal departments at major companies in Russia.

This is a follow up from the 2008 survey: How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel. Both surveys were sponsored by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell and conducted by the Forbes Institute.

Here is an initial list of topics that will be presented:

Have companies reduced their legal budget and if so by what percent?
Which industry sectors have been affected most by budget reductions?
Are legal departments adding or reducing the number of lawyers?
How are legal departments increasing productivity and saving money?
How are legal departments communicating risk to management?
How are legal departments reducing their external legal costs?
What percent discount have clients negotiated with their law firms and for what type of legal matters?

You can download a brochure of this special presentation in Russian and English or you can view the program in Russian or English and register for the conference online. Here is the link: http://iba.legalstudies.ru/en/program-en.htm

New group formed to discuss legal sector research in CEE

The survey conducted last year by the Forbes Institute: How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel, now has its own discussion group on the new global social media network for legal professionals called Martindale-Hubbell Connected.

At this group you can download free copies of all the research and presentations made in CEE with regard to in-house counsel and their external law firms. This is also the place to discuss some of the findings in greater depth. And anyone interested in receiving access to newly published research on related topics will find it in the archives for this group.

Just go to www.martindale.com/connected and register to have access. It is free of charge. Once you are registered search for the group: CEE Research Group.

Commissioned: Follow up survey on Russian in-house counsel

This is a follow-up survey to the one Forbes Institute conducted last year: How in-house counsel in Central & Eastern Europe select and retain their external counsel.

Only the head of the in-house legal department in Russia is allowed to complete this questionnaire and only one person per company should participate in this survey.

This survey was developed from a focus group which indicated that Heads of Legal departments in Russia are prioritizing their efforts to manage the current economic uncertainty in 5 main areas: 

1) Hiring, training, rewarding and motivating your staff.

2) Increasing your legal function’s productivity and saving money by implementing process improvements or using technology. 

3) Ensuring your department is aligned with the priorities of your company’s business units. 

4) Reducing your external legal costs without sacrificing quality.

5) Communicating risk and your company’s legal liabilities.

This survey is being sponsored by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell (www.martindale.com) and also has the kind support of the Russian Corporate Counsel Association (www.rcca.com.ru).

For more information or to participate in this survey contact Jeffrey Forbes: jeffrey@clientdoctor.com

How to beat the recession and retain clients

This article was published in the June 2009 issue of Top Legal International. You can download the article here.