During a corporate merger, a spike in the nationwide litigation portfolio strained client resources. To restore balance, Husch Blackwell introduced an innovative proprietary algorithm and outside counsel billing suite. Process implementation decreased risk and spend while optimizing compliance, reporting quality and allocation of resources to strengthen defenses. While the number of litigation matters increased by 35 percent, decreases were seen in time spent per matter (39 percent), law firm partner time (20-30 percent), average spend (30 percent), legal fees (10 percent) and active cases (53 percent).
Collaborating with our client, team members designed an innovative program to cut spending, improve predictability and achieve better legal outcomes. We gleaned insights into how future matters could be handled more efficiently by reviewing 16 years of cases. This included development of process maps for litigation, assignment maps and work streams, automated budget tracking and an online collaboration portal. The collaboration was recognized as a Value Champion in 2017 by the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC).