What’s driving the corporate marketplace for outside legal services these days? The results of a new global survey offer some insight on current in-house selection and buying patterns. Conducted by Lex Mundi, the study reached key decision-makers, with 92% of respondents holding the position of Chief Legal Officer.
 
U.S. and Europe Diverge on Convergence
Many corporate counsel intend to closely scrutinize their outside counsel (no surprises there).  However, U.S. departments are more inclined to expand internal services at the expense of outside firms, while Europeans tend toward the opposite approach.
 
What Corporate Counsel Want
Selection criteria were similar among both respondent bases, although U.S. companies emphasized the talents of individuals and non-U.S. departments were more focused on local market knowledge and language.
 
Personal Relationships Remain Paramount
Across the geographic spectrum, chief legal officers or general counsel are overwhelmingly in charge of selection: 92% direct the process.  They start by calling the people they know and trust, relying heavily on personal recommendations from in-house colleagues and outside lawyers and accountants. In addition to the referral network, Internet directories such as martindale.com are among the most important sources for obtaining information about law firms.
 
Methodology and Respondent Profile
A detailed questionnaire was mailed to 4,770 corporate counsel worldwide. Recipients were given the option of responding via Internet or hard copy. Geographical representation inclined towards U.S. entities, which accounted for 65% of the respondent base; corporations headquartered in Europe and the U.K. totaled 30%, and the remainder were from Canada, the Pacific Rim and South Africa.
 

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The 2002 Lex Mundi Corporate Counsel Survey was sponsored by Lex Mundi, the World Bank and Martindale-Hubbell, partially underwritten by a grant from Martindale-Hubbell and conducted by Altman Weil, Inc. For more information about the study, or to receive a complete copy of the report, please email info@altmanweil.com.