Our last mini-series of lessons focused on law firm attitudes in the downturn. We looked at how “commodity” firms and “professional service” firms had diametrically different attitudes toward both clients and attorneys, and we saw how client-oriented firms will navigate the downturn far better than commodity firms.

This mini-series looks at another feature of the downturn — rates. We’ll look at all kinds of rates: insurance rates, pay rates and hourly rates. But first, some context. There’s a lot happening, and market-aware law firms are alert to all the trends. As soon as the demand spike pivoted into a downturn, the industry braced for recession, the pay wars stalled, and now the insurance industry has the jitters.

If you’re a client-facing firm, you’ll be aware how much clients dislike all of this, and how they look to law firms for imagination and mitigation. After all, there’s no upside for clients in insurers hiking rates, or in firms overpaying associates. They know that firms will pass all this on. Sure, Steptoe made the news by reducing associate pay, but it’s not like they’re passing on the savings by cutting hourly rates.

Insurers are hiking rates because malpractice payouts have grown exponentially, and because they fear that hastily recruited lawyers and hybrid working will make things worse. But these are just the surface symptoms. The way to secure attractive insurance rates is to have a good claims profile, and the keys to that are all in the fundamentals.

 

It doesn’t have to be this way. It doesn’t have to be that law firms shrug their shoulders and pass everything on as increased hourly rates, while offering the same service. So, this lesson focuses on insurance rates, and then we’ll move on to pay rates and hourly rates.

  

Here’s our Rate Reducer Recipe to decrease disputes, complaints, claims and then rates:

  1. Start with good lawyers, in everything from talent, to motivation and wellbeing; then add
  2. Good clients, in everything from credit worthiness to business integrity; then add
  3. Good assignments, in everything from selection, to expectation management, to goal alignment; then add
  4. Good operating environment, in everything from mentoring, to culture and collaboration; then add
  5. Good governance, in everything from file opening, to conflict detection to trouble spotting.

Most firms do all of the above. The change is that a growing number are now starting to embrace the final critical ingredient:

  1. Good operating methods, in the form of efficiency, effectiveness and transparency. These are all safety features of Lean Adviser, and they are the best antidotes to claims.