In-house lawyers have been completing RollOnFriday's survey to reveal the firms that have been getting it right, and those that haven't. If you're in-house, the form is here.
Billing continues to be a bugbear. Many respondents railed against "pre-historic" time-sheet billing procedures. One in-house lawyer who believed it would result in firms draining talent, asked rhetorically "what bright and able kid wants to continue working in an industry where they see inefficient, less able colleagues progress because they're simply workhorses?" Another complained of "dubious half-day narrative entries such as 'reviewing'', 'discussing internally' and 'considering'; but without any notable action or advice received". The distrust continued with one in-house lawyer saying "stop charging us at partner rates for work clearly done by a trainee or associate. We can tell".
As for perks, firms appear to have cut back over the festive period. One in-house lawyer said "I did get a Christmas card, but we did spend about £1.5M with that firm this year." Whilst another said that a firm dished out "a bundle of case law for Christmas, complete with decorative Christmas ribbon". And one client said that they were treated to a "turkey sandwich at Pret. I paid for the coffee".
However, other firms went beyond the call of duty when it came to looking after clients. One in-house lawyer provided the grim revelation that they were invited to a sailing event by a firm where "a member of my team was sea-sick and started throwing up, but the partner was at hand. Literally, and rather bravely, holding a bucket". If you can top the experience of spewing into the open arms of a wind-swept lawyer desperate to win your business, let us know here.
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Billing continues to be a bugbear. Many respondents railed against "pre-historic" time-sheet billing procedures. One in-house lawyer who believed it would result in firms draining talent, asked rhetorically "what bright and able kid wants to continue working in an industry where they see inefficient, less able colleagues progress because they're simply workhorses?" Another complained of "dubious half-day narrative entries such as 'reviewing'', 'discussing internally' and 'considering'; but without any notable action or advice received". The distrust continued with one in-house lawyer saying "stop charging us at partner rates for work clearly done by a trainee or associate. We can tell".
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Another 3 units to the client |
As for perks, firms appear to have cut back over the festive period. One in-house lawyer said "I did get a Christmas card, but we did spend about £1.5M with that firm this year." Whilst another said that a firm dished out "a bundle of case law for Christmas, complete with decorative Christmas ribbon". And one client said that they were treated to a "turkey sandwich at Pret. I paid for the coffee".
However, other firms went beyond the call of duty when it came to looking after clients. One in-house lawyer provided the grim revelation that they were invited to a sailing event by a firm where "a member of my team was sea-sick and started throwing up, but the partner was at hand. Literally, and rather bravely, holding a bucket". If you can top the experience of spewing into the open arms of a wind-swept lawyer desperate to win your business, let us know here.