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How firms are curb-stomping clients in hourly rate negotiations, and how to mitigate that trend
Modern Lawyer
Vol. 8 - Iss. 4 pp. 38–45
Jan 2025
Corporate law departments (CLDs) allowed themselves to be lulled into a sense of false security, and now they are paying. For approximately ten years after the 2008 economic crisis, CLDs became accustomed to comparatively mild hourly rate increase proposals from firms, which resulted in average rate increases of approximately 3% year on year. Then came a little virus called Corona. There's a saying, "When the tide goes out, you learn who is naked". The pandemic showed that, while law firms had spent the last ten years quietly putting in place all the people, processes, and technology to optimize their financial outcomes, CLDs stood naked.