“The party is over and it’s time to share the pain”, leading corporations have warned law firms.
General counsel from top European companies including Royal Dutch Shell, British Airways and Nokia Corporation set out a list of cost-cutting measures for law firms at a College of Law forum at the end of last month.
These included changes to billing methods, the move towards fixed fee arrangements rather than hourly billing, and reductions in the number of law firms on their books.
Beat Hess, General Counsel and Company Secretary for Royal Dutch Shell, said the company had cut its list of outside law firms from 60 to eight.
“My approach was to say, I see you [the firms] have had Christmas every day for decades now but the party’s over,” he said. “You have to share the burden and help us bring the cost down.”
Allen & Overy partner, Stephen Denyer predicted that law firms would open offices outside the main cities to bring costs down.
