When it comes to setting budgets for legal projects, there are still many firms providing excuses for why they cannot put together a solid budget. Some firms have worked diligently on building the necessary resources to help partners and clients become more effective at creating predictable budgets. Scrutiny of legal departments has increased. With demands for lower costs and more predictable legal fees coming from the board level, many clients no longer want to hear excuses; they want to partner with outside counsel to provide predictability, solutions and metrics.
Lynne Miller, senior counsel, brand protection and brand legal-NA at The Procter & Gamble Company, provides input from the client/buyer side. “Budgets are fluid and need to be revisited regularly. We have to establish a line of communication. Communication, revisiting and revising are the key considerations in the current economic environment,” she says.
