Dynegy Inc. general counsel Kevin Blodgett has been posting the kind of numbers CEOs love. A nearly 50 percent drop in the past two years in total outside legal spending, for instance. And an even steeper decline in litigation costs. Plus he’s succeeded in driving down his department’s total expenses to such a degree that the legal budget is now just 0.52 percent of company revenue, down from 0.84 percent in 2006.
What’s his secret? No question, the recent disposal of some major litigation has helped. But the other (and more interesting) part of the answer lies in Blodgett’s recent revamp of Dynegy’s 20-lawyer department, along with smarter deployment of outside lawyers, and litigation chief Jason Buchman’s ability to engineer an array of innovative fixed-fee deals on Dynegy matters.
