New and events of the Philadelphia Bar Asso.
Issue link: https://thephiladelphialawyer.epubxp.com/i/434516
O ne in three lawyers (33 per- cent) recently said the number of hours they work on a vol- unteer basis has risen over the past five years. In fact, 45 percent of lawyers said they dedicate 50 or more hours of their time each year to pro bono ser- vice. The average number of pro bono hours reported was 56. "Helping others" was overwhelm- ingly cited by lawyers as the greatest benefit of pro bono work, followed by "developing skills or legal expertise" and "enhancing professional reputation or career," the research found. The survey was developed by Robert Half Legal. Lawyers in the U.S. and Canada were asked, "Has the number of hours you work on a pro bono or volunteer basis increased or decreased in the last five years?" Fifteen percent said their hours significantly increased; 18 percent noted a slight increase; 10 percent said there was a slight decrease; 6 percent noted a significant decrease; and 51 percent reported no change. "While many lawyers provide legal services on a volunteer basis for goodwill, establishing a formal pro bono program within a law firm can yield added benefits," said Charles Volkert, executive director of Robert Half Legal. "Pro bono work not only boosts associates' morale and enhances the development of important skills, it also can help improve a firm's reputation and increase its ability to attract clients and prospective associates." C orporate law departments are wielding their buying power to drive down expenditures on outside counsel, and innovating from within to further control costs, according to a survey by Altman Weil. "The impact of the recession on in-house law departments has been twofold," said Daniel J. DiLucchio, survey author and Altman Weil principal. "Internal department resources have been constrained in many cases, but at the same time law departments have gained more leverage over external resources. Chief legal officers (CLOs) are buyers in what is currently a strong buyers' market." The two methods CLOs used most frequently to control costs in the last 12 months are direct price reductions from outside counsel, and alternative or fixed fee arrangements, according to the survey. The most common price reduction – received by half of all law departments surveyed – is between 6 percent and 10 percent. The number of departments receiving average discounts of more than ten percent is 36 percent this year, a jump from 28 percent in the 2013 survey. Along with targeting outside counsel pricing, CLOs also manage costs by managing the distribution of work to law firms. This year, 40 percent of those surveyed have shifted law firm work to in-house lawyer staff; 36 percent shifted work to lower-priced firms; and 34 percent reduced the total amount of work sent to outside counsel.Of all cost control efforts undertaken in the last 12 months, CLOs report that shifting work in-house is the one that yielded the greatest cost reduction. "Law departments usually can do work less expensively in-house if they have the resources in place," said DiLucchio. Two-thirds of CLOs said they have increased their departments' use of technology tools to increase efficiency in the delivery of legal services. More than half have undertaken a restructuring/reorganization of internal resources, and 45 percent have made greater use of paralegals and other paraprofessionals. pro bono ■ controlling expenses ■ gift cards ■ efficiency ■ in memoriam Briefs Briefs 6 the philadelphia lawyer Winter 2015 Chief Legal Offcers Wield Buying Power to Control Outside Counsel Expenses Pro Bono Work on the Rise for One-Third of Lawyers