Law Firm Research Charges and Cost Effective Research Skills

Agenda

• Legal Research Cost Recovery Trends

• Lexis Advance pricing/managing costs

• Cost Effective Research Skills

2

2011Cost Recovery & AFA Survey:

Large Law Firms & Corporate Counsel

• Law Firm Economics

• Corporate Counsel Perceptions – value of paid for research services

• Billing & Cost Recovery Practices

• Alternative Fee Arrangements

3

-

Online Research Costs as a Percentage

of Total Expenses

Question: Thinking about your firm's total expenses, approximately what percentage of total expenses do online research costs represent after you recover charges billed to clients? Base: Firms that bill clients for online research costsNote: Large Law is defined as firms with 51+ attorneys. Mid-Law is defined as firms with 21-50 attorneys.

Three-fourths of corporate counsel (75%) believe that the value of online research conducted by outside counsel is commensurate with or exceeds the cost.

N= 158 Corporate Counsel

Question: Do you perceive that the value of online research conducted on your behalf by outside counsel typically (meaning more times than not) ...?

Reliability and accuracy of search results are the most important factors driving the value of online research for corporate counsel.

N= 158 Corporate Counsel

Question: Which of the following factors contribute to the value you receive from the research outside counsel conducts on your organization's behalf? Select all that apply.

AFAs & Billing Arrangements

How much does Lexis Advance cost?

8

Commercial Pricing Basics

• Subscription Pricing Plan: Most firms, courts, and agencies that have access to Lexis have a subscription pricing plan.

*Solo practitioner packages range $75 - $250 per month

Managing Plans: - Overhead - Bill Back

*Transactional (pay as you go): Access to LexisNexis but pay retail rates for each search “transaction”

9

Lexis Advance Pricing

Lexis Advance Retail Pricing: Pricing is based on a per document access model. For example, there is no charge to run a search across all content, browse cite lists, and filter results. A document access charge only occurs when a document is opened.

NOTE: ONLY applies if billing research back or accessing content out of plan and discounts may apply. Majority of students will not be billing research to clients and rarely accessing content out of plan.

10

• Achieving a high level of competence using the product.

• Asking your employer questions about the topic/issue assigned so you have a strong foundation to begin your research.

• Understanding your employer’s Subscription Plan.

• Understanding how your employer manages online research performed for clients.

• Using the research features and tips shared today to become more efficient.

What is Cost Effective Research?

Searching is free & Pre/Post filtering is free

12

Lexis Advance®: Documents In & Out of Plan

13

Lexis Advance: Free Preview

14

Lexis Advance: Price Guide

15

Time Efficient Features

16

Topic Summaries

17

Legal Issue Trail

18

Delivery Options are free

19

Shepard’s® is free

20

•

History is free for 90 days

•

Work Folders

• Lexis Advance is available at the majority of firms, courts and agencies

• Most customers have a flat rate subscription pricing plan

• Less than 10% of a law firm’s expenses are for online research (majority between 1-4%)

• The vast majority of Corporate Counsel (75%) deem the value of online legal research by outside counsel to be at least equal to the cost

• Top 3 factors driving value of online research:*Reliability & accuracy of results*Current and up to date information*Comprehensiveness of Database

• Majority of students will NOT be incurring research charges.

Review

Take advantage of cost effective features like:

• Free to Search and Filter

• Free Preview and Out of Plan notification

• Save time with Legal Issue Trail, Topic Summaries, Lexis Web, Table of Contents…

• Shepard’s is free

• Work Folders – time efficient and free

• History – free for 90 days

• Document Delivery is free

• Customer Service is free

Review

• NEW video: Law Firm Simulation: Understanding research charges on Lexis Advance

• Updated Video: Researching Cost Effectively with Lexis Advance

• Updated Literature: Be Cost Effective for Employers and Clients

• Think Like a Lawyer site: www.lexisnexis.com/tlal

Additional Resources