It’s a good time to be a client. Charles James, Chevron Corp.’s executive vice president, expects that the newfound leverage that clients have over law firms will allow them to squeeze more fee concessions and increased productivity from legal vendors in the years ahead.
James, who served as Chevron’s general counsel and now supervises the post, said that, if partners want to maintain profits, junior lawyers will be forced to beef up their hours — and perhaps give up some of the work/life balance that they’ve achieved in recent years. For associates, that would mean annual billables of 2,100 to 2,200 hours, rather than the 1,900 hours he’s seen recently at firms. “Law firms are now entering into more reasonable economic relationships with their associates, so that will reduce costs,” James said, “and we want to make sure as clients that those cost reductions come to us.”
