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Mattern Assists AmLaw 100 firm to Improve Outsourcing Efficiencies and Costs Through Closed RFP Process, Achieving 22% Savings

This AmLaw 100 firm based in Kansas City, Missouri has a nationwide practice with over 475 attorneys across all offices. In 2016, the firm sought the expertise of Mattern to assist with its traditional outsourcing needs. While the firm was satisfied with their current provider, they sought to improve terms and reduce costs. Mattern recommended a closed Request for Proposal (RFP) process, giving the incumbent service provider the initial opportunity to renew its business, with an option to go to an open market RFP if their response did not meet the firm’s terms and pricing requirements.

OPPORTUNITY
This AmLaw 100 firm based in Kansas City, Missouri has a nationwide practice with over 475 attorneys across all offices. The firm sought the expertise of Mattern to assist with its traditional outsourcing needs. While the firm was satisfied with their current provider, they sought to improve terms and reduce costs. Mattern recommended a closed Request for Proposal (RFP) process, giving the incumbent service provider the initial opportunity to renew its business, with an option to go to an open market RFP if their response did not meet the firm’s terms and pricing requirements.

In this instance, the firm sought to improve pricing and contractual terms, improve current processes, position its services in alignment with the firm’s five-year plan, and automate metrics and monthly reporting. In particular, the firm expected the current provider to lean on its knowledge of their operations to bring creativity and provide a solution that met its goals while maintaining current service levels.

Based on Mattern’s benchmarks, the firm anticipated a 21% reduction of its current spend.

PROCESS
Mattern and the firm previously collaborated on a management review of the firm’s outsourcing projects. While Mattern had some foundational knowledge of the firm, it had also undergone significant changes since Mattern’s previous engagement. Mattern first conducted a comprehensive review of the firm’s outsourcing needs, with a new analysis of each office that addressed any operational changes over time.

Mattern did a complete on-site assessment of all outsourced services and equipment at several offices and reviewed the others through extensive interviews with on-site staff and discussions with key personnel. Every assessment included a review of the outsourcing provider’s staffing levels, workflows, processes, and equipment.

Additionally, Mattern reviewed each area of the firm’s operations and provided a complete analysis of its back-office operations, with recommendations moving forward.

The analysis identified an opportunity to improve on the litigation support and e-Discovery work performed by the current service provider. Mattern recommended that the firm explore separating this service and transition it to a Mattern Plan B Cost Recovery® model. This proprietary process allows firms to maximize billable cost recovery revenue by increasing net realizations through restructuring their on-site support services as hard-cost, pass-through disbursements. The firm agreed, and their service provider determined a “fully loaded” transactional rate, whereby the service provider would only charge the firm per transaction – not for individual labor, equipment, technology, supplies, and other costs. This allowed the firm to pay only for the volume of work it generated on a monthly basis. This arrangement also improved cost recovery, as the firm could just pass along transaction fees to clients as appropriate.

Based on Mattern’s understanding of the firm’s needs, cost objectives and required services, the unique RFP offered multiple options, including performing all litigation support and e-Discovery on a transactional basis. The RFP focused on the areas of concern the firm set forth at the outset and issues discovered through Mattern’s analysis.

RESULT
The RFP process yielded several viable solutions. After a careful review, the firm elected to utilize Mattern’s recommendation to do litigation support and eDiscovery on a fully loaded transaction cost basis. Additionally, there were other significant changes to the operations, contract, and price. In particular, the firm realized the following changes:
- Significantly improved terms and conditions, including elimination of a non-solicitation clause after 24 months.
- Workflow efficiencies and reduced hours of operation, which allowed for overall staff reduction of 10 full-time employees, while maintaining service levels in all offices.
- Combination of right-sizing, eliminating and maintaining a good percentage of the Multi-Functional Device (MFD) population through extension of leases by 24 months to extend useful life.
- Penalty-based service level agreements.
- Financial incentives.

Overall, due to the changes implemented, in the first year the firm realized a savings of 22% over its current annual spend, surpassing the projected 21% benchmark.

Mattern Leads Strategic Outsourcing for AmLaw 25 Firm, Lowering Costs and Enhancing Services Copy Copy Copy

To elevate service quality and secure more competitive pricing, this global AmLaw 25 firm needed to refresh more than a decade-old outsourcing model across multiple administrative and support functions. Mattern partnered with the firm to restructure leadership, optimize staffing, and integrate technology, ultimately delivering savings of more than 10% and reducing off-site facility costs by 71%—all while strengthening vendor accountability and aligning operations with the firm’s long-term strategic goals.

A PilotLegis Member Firm Streamlines Off-Site Records and Establishes Firmwide Information Governance

This PilotLegis member firm engaged Mattern to address two interconnected risks: a growing off-site records footprint and the absence of a firmwide information governance framework. By pairing a historical records cleanup with practical IG policy development, the firm took a disciplined approach to reducing legacy paper risk while establishing clear, defensible practices for the future. The result was a coordinated strategy that delivered immediate cost and risk reduction while setting the foundation for long-term governance maturity.

Mattern Revamps Nonprofit’s Off-Site Records Program, Cutting Storage Costs by 82%

There is a way out.

Typically, Mattern works with law firms but when a former client called from their new role at a nonprofit and asked for help with a long-troubled off-site records program, Mattern didn’t hesitate. The nonprofit organization had tried for years to improve the situation without success. Mattern stepped in to deliver clarity, competition, and control.

Strategic Scanning Initiative Enables Seamless Office Move for National Law Firm

A national law firm preparing for a major office relocation needed a structured, defensible way to reduce its physical records footprint without disrupting attorney workflows. Mattern designed and managed a comprehensive scanning initiative that aligned with the Firm’s information governance objectives and ensured all work was completed before the move. The result was a streamlined transition that strengthened long-term records management practices.

Future-Ready Legal Operations: How Mattern Helped a Leading Law Firm Optimize Outsourcing, Technology, and Governance

To stay ahead of shifting demands, this California-based NLJ 500 firm needed to align its outsourcing, equipment, and information governance practices with a hybrid work environment. Mattern helped the firm optimize operations, strengthen policy, and secure long-term stability across 12 offices—all while recovering the full cost of the engagement.

A prominent Boston-based law firm undergoing an administration transition identified a pressing need: many of its vendor contracts supporting office and administrative services had not been reviewed in years. The new administration recognized that they lacked both the in-house expertise and bandwidth to evaluate and renegotiate these agreements effectively.

MatternPILOT in Action: Total Savings of 34% and Better Yet, Proper Contract Management

Like so many firms, the Firm had boxes of paper records that hadn’t been touched in years. The attorneys responsible had retired or moved on, and the boxes of records lay idle.

Mattern Assists Law Firm in Unraveling Decades of Paper Records and Rebuilding Information Governance Strategy

The procurement of office supplies is back to pre-pandemic levels and firms are once again looking to optimize their spend. After years of decline due to hybrid work and the shift to digital output, the overall dollar spend is back, or in some cases, exceeding pre-pandemic levels.

AmLaw 200 Firm Streamlines Procurement and Saves 43% on Office Supplies

Establishing and maintaining a successful contract negotiation is a situation in which there needs to be two winners, not a winner and a loser. While every firm wants to procure the best contracts through informed negotiation, it is also important to preserve the long term, industry relationships with the vendors. You’ve got to pick the competitors wisely, and you must know the best practices in your region. To that end, there’s a great deal of strategy involved in an Open RFP; one might say an art.

Prominent IP Law Firm Achieves Win-Win & 10 Year Contract with Open Off-Site Records RFP

With more than 1,100 lawyers and consulting professionals in 24 offices worldwide, this firm is a leading business and litigation practice with global reach. As is the trend with many successful large firms, this particular one had undergone a merger in 2009 with an established Atlanta-based firm.

National Firm Gains 33% Reduction in Permanent Withdrawal Fees and 22% Monthly Savings on Outsourcing Contracts in Dual RFPs

Best Best & Krieger, LLP is a 180-attorney law firm that has been in business for more than a century. The firm has grown to include several dynamic practice groups across eight offices throughout California.

Mattern & Associates Spearheads Vendor Consolidation, Achieves 23% Monthly Savings in Support Services for Best Best & Krieger

Established in 1891, Best Best & Krieger (BBK) is a highly regarded, full-service law firm of over 350 professionals, including more than 200 attorneys across nine offices in California and in Washington, D.C. Maria D’Aquila is the firm’s Operations Manager.