When times are tough, as they are in this economy, we must find ways to do more with less.  Yes, we have all heard that line before.  And we usually visualize a reduction in force with fewer employees being told to figure out how to do the job of ten with only five.  But its not always about working harder, its often more about working smarter. 

Bloomberg.com had a thoughtful article titled, Wall Street Lawyers Dumped for Lower-Priced Boutiques.  As the title implies, there are opportunities for many firms to pitch for work that a year or two ago may have been out of reach.  It also serves as a a reminder that the pricing and value dynamics of legal services have changed, maybe permanently. 

This is a good time to wrestle with those sacred and historically untouchable items in your overhead.  Shed any cost that is not directly riveted to what you require to meet client needs.  You need to be able to compete on value.  And price is a component of value.  Clients are seriously looking at the capability of less expensive firms to handle a much wider range of their legal needs.  And they are finding that there is real value in what these firms are delivering. 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 7th, 2009 at 10:40 am and is filed under Economics. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.