Legal and staffing costs remain largely unchanged for US companies, despite the innovative cost control methods and alternative billing arrangements that many general counsel have pioneered over the last few years.

According to a survey of law department managers by legal consultancy Altman Weil, the total law department expenses for the 140 companies surveyed averaged at $847,599 (£482,797) per lawyer in 2004, $21,000 (£11,961) less than the previous year.