LexisNexis To Lead Industry Dialog On Price Negotiations At Sandpiper Partners’ Matter Pricing And Profitability Conference

LexisNexis ^® Legal & Professional ( www.lexisnexis.com), a leading provider of content and technology solutions, will sponsor Sandpiper Partners, LLC ’s Second Annual “Pricing and Profitability Conference” on November 30, 2012 in New York City. The conference will focus on the “anatomy” of a fixed fee negotiation, providing an actionable framework law firms can use in negotiating constructive fee arrangements with corporate clients. Attendees will also learn project management tips to help them achieve desirable legal outcomes while appropriately aligning firm resources to make such engagements profitable.

“While many alternative fee arrangements have been explored in recent years, it is increasingly clear that fixed fee arrangements are emerging as a favored choice by corporate legal clients,” said conference moderator, Russ Haskin, director of consulting and services at LexisNexis® Redwood Analytics®. “The focus of our November 30 event will be on highlighting for law firm leaders strategies and metrics they’ll need to leverage in order to drive effective fixed fee negotiations that work for all parties to the matter.”

The conference comes on the heels of a recent survey by ALM Legal Intelligence and sponsored by LexisNexis Legal & Professional, “ Thinking Like Your Client: Strategic Planning in Law Firms.” That survey examined Am Law 200 law firms across the U.S. and found that while profitability is a key priority, fewer than half of these firms are actively focused on a non-billable hour strategy, and more than half can’t yet tell whether or how they can make AFAs work for their firm.

Conference faculty and panelists will include managing partners and senior leaders from top U.S. law firms as well as distinguished corporate counsel, including:

• Edward P. O’Keefe, Legal COO & Deputy General Counsel for Technology at Bank of America Corporation
• Erin Hill, Chief Operating Officer, Legal & Compliance at JPMorgan Chase
• Loren Brown, Co-Chair, Product Liability and Mass Tort Practice, DLA Piper LLP
• Jacob W. Buchdahl, Partner, Susman Godfrey L.L.P.
• Steven J. Gartner, Co-Chairman, Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP
• Mary J. Hackett, Partner, Reed Smith
• Russ Haskin, Director of Consulting and Services, LexisNexis – Redwood
• Anthony Licata, Chief Financial Officer, Dechert LLP
• Charles J. O’Donnell, Chief Operating Officer, Duane Morris LLP
• Purvi Sanghvi, Manager of Financial Business Analysis, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP
• David Fries, Chief Client Service Officer, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP
• Thomas E. Doughty, International Director, Jones Lang LaSalle

Panelists will begin by identifying the types of information – including a precise definition of the scope of work; the elements of the task; historic data from past matters on hours, costs, fees, and utilization – in order to formulate a negotiating strategy. Attendees will then participate in simulated negotiations, playing various roles representing both law firm partners as well as corporate counsel and advisors, while receiving tips and critiques from conference faculty. Finally, panelists will highlight best practices in drafting alternative fee arrangements – including finalizing language addressing common contingencies and exceptions – and leveraging metrics, monitoring, project management and technology to maximum effect in order to resource the matter properly and profitably.

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