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Q: Is budgeting really going to help improve my case outcomes? Budgeting may appear to be more of a hassle than a benefit - especially since your firms may resist at first. However, once the process is established, you will enjoy many long-term benefits, such as getting the best value for your legal dollar. Budgeting does more than save money - it can help you identify which firms are best at establishing case strategy early on in the planning process. It also provides greater predictability around how much different types of cases will cost in various venues using certain law firms - enabling you to intelligently select firms for best case outcome and reduced loss. Get started by agreeing internally on your budgeting strategy. It's often practical to have different budgeting rules for different lines of business or practice areas. Workers' compensation cases, for example, are better suited for "life of matter" budgets since they're often similar in size and scope. Long-tail claims or mass tort claims, however, are more productively budgeted only through the first set of activities since after discovery, litigation plans can often change significantly. Next, plan for how the budgeting process will impact your firms by establishing rules of engagement. Does every matter need a budget? Does a budget need to exist in order for invoices to be submitted? What happens if the firm goes over budget? Are they paid in full or just a percentage? Make sure these questions are covered by your case management or billing guidelines. An electronic Legal Spend Management solution can support these rules of engagement through automated workflow and reporting. Email notifications can alert users when a certain percentage of the budget has been spent, enabling claims adjusters and attorneys to better manage and prioritize their workload by exposing matters likely to go over budget and thus off-strategy. This triggered event is a great opportunity for the parties to collaborate with each other and determine if a new strategy and budget are needed. Is it time to settle or is the case still worth litigating? About Bottomline Technologies Bottomline's legal spend management solution, Legal eXchange, helps companies manage litigation costs and outside counsel more efficiently. Supported by electronic invoice data, users can align budgets and case handling strategies with outside counsel, establishing benchmarks for increased cost predictability. Legal eXchange is deployed at many leading corporations, including several of the top 25 global insurance companies. Learn more » |
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