1. Recent Trends in Legal Services New Business Competitions Slide 1 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Recent Trends in Legal Services New Business Competitions Presentation by Ann Lee Gibson, Ph.D. By Invitation of LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell At Simmons & Simmons London June 7, 2007

2. Recent Trends in Legal Services New Business Competitions Slide 2 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Recent Trends on the Client Side

3. ENHANCED PRODUCTIVITY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP HOURLY RATE REDUCTIONS LAW FIRM CONVERGENCE APPLIED TECHNOLOGY WORK PROCESS REENGINEERING PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENTS VALUE-BASED BILLING RISK/REWARD SHARING Source: A New EraThe DuPont Legal Model, page 17 Productivity Curve

4. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 4 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips More RFPs issued lately 1.In the last 2 years, most Am Law firms have received 2 to 3 times more RFPs than before. 2.RFPs are being issued by banks, manufacturers, pharmas, telecoms, investment funds, etc. 3.Clients now start with a short list of firms.

5. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 5 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips RFPs expensive for clients too 1.A few bad consultants are out there advising companies – creating RFQs (not RFPs) that dont distinguish among firms and too-long, onerous processes. 2.Some companies are fascinated with really bad Excel worksheets as RFP response templates. 3.Recent RFP horror stories – consultants fired and rehired, RFPs with hundreds of questions, no interviews conducted, winning firms fired months after being hired, etc.

6. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 6 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Clients want … 1.Lower legal costs 2.Great firms, not just hot lawyers 3.Legal knowledge systems 4.Improved legal processes 5.Lawyer diversity

7. Recent Trends in Legal Services New Business Competitions Slide 7 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Recent Trends on the Law Firm Side

8. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 8 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Entrepreneurs still distinguish themselves 1.Those with inside knowledge have a big advantage. 2.Savvy solutions (not just qualifications) can beat incumbents. 3.Still boils down to sales ability – however that translates well to the client.

9. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 9 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Firms investing in tactical competitions resources 1.Proposal writers, editors, project managers 2.Researchers and competitive intelligence analysts 3.More business development managers 4.Expertise and qualifications databases 5.Proposal templates and boilerplate 6.Proposal and document automation software

10. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 10 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Firms starting to get more systematic with competitions 1.Is this RFP worth the effort? 2.If we do decide to compete, what should we do first, second, third … eighteenth? 3.What role must firm management play in determining pricing decisions, business conflict assessments, staffing?

11. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 11 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Firms still not strategic enough 1.How does this RFP (and this client and this type of work) align with our business plan? 2.What is the firms appetite for managing its business plans? 3.Who in the firm is answering the hard questions: Where is the money? Whos got the most interesting work? What are clients paying the most money for?

12. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 12 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Pricing still hard to talk about 1.Most firms discount fees, even those that deny it. 2.Hourly rates are still rising – many Am Law firms top partners hourly rates pushing $1,000 / hour. 3.Clients still lobby for alternative pricing, but most accept discounted hourly rates and volume discounts.

13. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 13 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips What firms are doing (a little) better 1.Research and competitive intelligence – everybodys doing research, and some firms are actually developing actionable intel. 2.Interviews – create two-way conversations about this clients issues. 3.Proposals – offer solutions and legal approaches responsive to this clients challenges.

14. How to Win New Business Competitions and Beauty Contests Slide 14 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips What firms still need to (greatly) improve 1.Dont wait for RFPs – go pitch your best clients now. 2.Decide if RFP is worth the effort. 3.Interview prospective client to learn vital intel before they compete. 4.Use RFP opportunities to pitch higher value work. 5.Debrief all competitions, win or lose.

15. Recent Trends in Legal Services New Business Competitions Slide 15 Home Productivity Curve Client Trends Firm Trends 50 Tips Download at www.annleegibson.com