Since the economy began sagging in 2008, James M. “Duke” Johnston, vice president and general counsel of The Dwyer Group Inc., has been trying to pinch pennies for his Waco company. So he began asking the 20 firms he uses as outside counsel to slash their billing rates.
“For the last 18 to 24 months, we’ve really gotten more aggressive with all the firms,” Johnston says. Lower hourly billing rates, blended rates and fees contingent on success are just a few of the methods Johnston expects his outside counsel to employ. One firm, which he declines to identify, has had a 10-year agreement with his company to handle its intellectual property litigation. Sometimes a case costs $100,000, while another costs $17,000, but at year’s end, the average amount billed by the firm for each IP case must average less than $25,000, he says.
