Rees Morrison

January 12, 2009 | National Law Journal

One pie-in-the-sky ideal is that outside law firms will submit accurate projections of their costs on all matters to their corporate clients, and that in-house managers will review that information critically. Yeah. Now let's talk about some ideas that can actually be put into effect.

By Rees Morrison and Paul Morrison

8 minute read

July 14, 2003 | National Law Journal

For most law departments, reducing outside counsel fees boils down to reducing litigation fees. Studies show that litigation fees typically account for around three-quarters of what law departments spend on law firms. For this reason, techniques that target litigation spending deserve special mention. There are four methods in particular that will not only reduce litigation spending but will also push corporate law departments to think more creatively about it.

By Rees Morrison

9 minute read

October 14, 2005 | Law.com

Standout law departments encourage their people to go that extra step with creativity, effort and execution. This requires that department members be fully engaged, not merely satisfied. Avoid the dangers of disengaged employees, who can become "black holes" that suck the energy and productivity out of a law department. Julia Hayhoe and Rees Morrison of Hildebrandt International offer some pointers for making sure attorneys and other employees stay engaged.

By Julia Hayhoe and Rees Morrison

7 minute read

November 20, 2008 | Law.com

Lawyers on both sides of the law firm invoice divide speak blithely about "value billing," where in-house lawyers compensate their outside firms based not on hours worked but on the benefit their legal services bring to the company. Paying only what legal services are worth sounds ideal -- until you try to put price tags on value. Rees Morrison and Paul Morrison examine five difficulties in assessing true value that general counsel must resolve to make value billing as good in practice as it is in theory.

By Rees Morrison and Paul Morrison

9 minute read

November 24, 2009 | New Jersey Law Journal

Many variables are at play, but vigilant corporate counsel can still get the most for the least expenditures.

By Rees Morrison

8 minute read

September 14, 2009 | Legaltech News

A seemingly arcane mathematics, called power laws, will help general counsel and other legal department managers understand spending, staffing and other numbers. Power laws explain patterns in many kinds of benchmark and performance data and can even help anticipate future events.

By Rees Morrison

7 minute read

September 04, 2007 | Corporate Counsel

As a consultant to law departments on more than a dozen competitive bids, Rees Morrison has found few that do efficient reviews of the responses that they get to their requests for proposals. Many different techniques and methodologies are used in these reviews, but not all of them are productive. Corporate law departments don't compare notes much, and law firms stay mum about competitive bid processes. To remedy that gap, Morrison offers seven innovative tips for conducting competitive bids.

By Rees Morrison

8 minute read

July 18, 2005 | Law.com

Few responsibilities are as important for general counsel as making sure the law department nurtures its talent and fully develops its bench strength. Too many GCs, however, ignore this task, to the detriment of both the department and the company it serves. Consultants Rees Morrison and Julia Hayhoe identify some of the biggest obstacles GCs face in this regard and offer advice on how to overcome them.

By Rees Morrison and Julia Hayhoe

6 minute read

January 01, 2007 | Texas Lawyer

All law departments review their firm invoices. Few, though, extract management insights from them. Yet the documents contain useful information, and the effort it takes to reap those details is modest.

By Rees Morrison

8 minute read

October 05, 2005 | Law.com

General counsel are expected to be leaders, but how is leadership developed? Is it nature or nurture that determines a leader? According to Rees Morrison, co-head of law department consulting at Hildebrandt International, leaders are both "born" and "made," meaning there is hope for any GC who is not a "born" leader, and room for improvement for those who are. General counsel can improve their leadership abilities in a number of ways, using several tips provided by Morrison.

By Julia Hayhoe and Rees Morrison

6 minute read