With the today’s economic trends, companies are searching for measurable cost reductions.  And because of this, legal budgets have come under great scrutiny.  In a recent Altman Weil, Inc. study, most law departments are expecting their budgets to be cut by at least 11%¹.  With this in mind, we thought we’d present a short list of methods for you to immediately reduce your legal spend:

Litigation Management

1. Get away from your dependence on software – Installed matter management software solutions can easily cost six – even seven – figures annually.  Switching to a web-based service (like the Software-as-a-Service solution, CSC Matter Management^sm) can dramatically reduce your litigation and matter management costs.
2. Implement an XML feed – If you are locked into a long-term contract (or cannot economically switch matter management systems), build an XML data feed between your Service of Process provider and your current system.  This step will eliminate both the hard and soft costs of manual inputs and updates.
3. Start electronic billing – Receiving electronic invoices from outside law firms and other vendors can create approximately 8 - 10%² in savings by reducing the costs of processing legal invoices and eliminating billing errors.  (You can read more about the savings from implementing an e-billing system in this month’s CSC Flash article - Reduce Outside Counsel Spending with Electronic Billing)
4. Reduce the paper – We find that many companies continue to receive their Service of Process in paper-form via overnight courier.  Converting to electronic same-day delivery, will reduce processing costs as well as routing and sharing costs.  In addition, electronic tracking helps to identify potential delays that could lead to costly default judgments.

Intellectual Property and Domain Names

1. Consolidate your domain portfolio – Often times, companies register names with many registrars.  By consolidating your domain name portfolio with CSC, you can reduce both soft, administrative costs and hard, renewal costs.
2. Shop your SSL certificates – Similar to domain names, we’ve found that SSL certificates (or digital certificates) are not typically managed as a complete portfolio.  By consolidating these with one vendor you can typically find cost savings.
3. Evaluate your Trademark provider – Many IP attorneys continue to utilize the “big names” for their trademark research and screening.  By comparing your current services and associated fees with those offered by CSC, you can find a simple way to reduce direct costs.

Corporate Governance

1. Outsource your Annual Reports – Managing the submissions for an entire entity portfolio can be an administrative burden.  By outsourcing your annual report preparation and filing to CSC, you can immediately cut your costs – in fact we’ve helped several companies save in excess of $100,000 annually.
2. Digitize your board communications – Preparing board books each quarter can prove to be quite costly.  Instead, distribute board communications electronically by utilizing a Virtual Boardroom system.

Contact us today to discuss how we can assist with reducing your legal spend.  You’ll find that our matter management, corporate identity protection and corporate governance solutions will not only help you to reduce costs it will help you reduce your risk.

¹ Qualters, S (Dec 10, 2008). Majority of Corporate Legal Departments Facing Budget Cuts. National Law Journal, ALM Media, Inc.

² ACC and Serengeti (Oct. 2008).  2008 ACC/Serengeti Managing Outside Counsel Survey. ACC.

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