Increased competition and a wave of mergers and acquisitions have forced the legal industry to rethink and reshape its business. These trends have resulted in newly expanded firms vying for a larger share of their clients’ business and clients wishing to lower costs by replacing patchwork legal coverage with a smaller number of larger firms, that can more efficiently meet their needs. According to a 2003 BTI Consulting study, general counsels for Fortune 1000 companies plan to consolidate and reduce the total number of law firms they use from an average of 75 in 2001 to 40 in 2005.
In this environment of consolidation and competition, law firms are faced with several key challenges:
