Outside counsel spend: how General Counsel keep it under control

In short. Outside counsel spend overruns where three things are missing: a decision to send the work out, a budget before the matter starts, and a check of each invoice against that budget. Control comes from deciding what goes out, agreeing the price before work starts, and reviewing spend by matter and firm every quarter.

Decide what goes out

One intake route for every request, a rule for what the team keeps in-house, and one person who approves external instructions.

Agree the price first

An estimate or a fixed fee for every matter, billing guidelines in the engagement letter, and a named point at which the firm must ask before it exceeds the budget.

Review what came in

Invoices checked against the estimate and the guidelines, spend reported by matter, firm and business unit, and a quarterly review with each main firm.

Use the numbers in the panel

Give more work to the firms that keep to their estimates and report well, and tell the panel that this is how work is allocated.

For in-house teams, the AgiLawyer Radar reads intake, matters and finance through one lens: how well legal serves the business.