Corporate Counsel details the latest eco-magination from GE on how it selects the roster of outside counsel it will use in its worldwide operations.
Under the so-called “Gen Two” regime, GE has backed away from such decision tools that it has used in Gen One (lilke a 20 page RFP and online auctions) to a shorter online RFP (saves paper!). This resulted in the herd of “preferred provider firms” being thinned from 140 to 108.
Other attributes of the new deal:
In addition to the changing lineup, GE also restructured the actual terms of the working arrangements. Under Gen Two, the firms must now propose alternative fee arrangements for every matter and offer a binding core team of attorneys to work on GE cases. The two-year contracts of Gen One were stretched to four years, and firms must renegotiate discounted rates halfway through the agreement.
Interestingly, one way the reductions apparently started was in the short-list of firms to get a Gen Two RFP. Those firms “that in-house lawyers gave the lowest ratings” to apparently didn’t get a password to the RFP site.
So the first lesson for law firms: don’t just be nice to the GC or managing counsel. That new staff attorney may have a long memory.