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West Coast Am Law 100 Firm Achieves Outsourcing and Document Processing Goals, and Decreases Monthly Spend

This Am Law 100, West Coast firm has over 700 attorneys across 15 office locations. The firm had been in a lengthy relationship with its vendor for services provided for its back office, word processing, and MFD equipment at its 7 domestic locations. Over the past year, the firm had negotiated directly with the vendor in an attempt to reduce costs, improve contractual terms, and improve the current management team. Overall, the firm felt it had been overpaying for services received and that its contract was not up to market standards.

OPPORTUNITY
This Am Law 100, West Coast firm has over 700 attorneys across 15 office locations. The firm had been in a lengthy relationship with its vendor for services provided for its back office, word processing, and MFD equipment at its 7 domestic locations. Over the past year, the firm had negotiated directly with the vendor in an attempt to reduce costs, improve contractual terms, and improve the current management team. Overall, the firm felt it had been overpaying for services received and that its contract was not up to market standards.

After achieving limited success on its own, the firm elected to bring in Mattern to conduct an open request for proposal process.

SOLUTION
A review of the services by Mattern revealed that they were being performed well.

As part of the solution, Mattern outlined the objectives: increase efficiencies, improve pricing and terms, negotiate a contract that was flexible and in line with the firm’s future plans, and ensure that the service provider had a clearly stated management team in place to address firm needs. Additionally, the firm wanted to include a review of the MFD equipment since certain equipment was tied into costly leases. Thus, the focus of the Request for Proposal (RFP) was on contract terms, management plans, and efficiencies, all provided at a competitive cost for both labor and equipment.

Mattern conducted a complete on-site assessment of MFD equipment, outsourced labor, and word processing services at each of the firm’s staffed offices as well as the off-site location where word processing operations were housed (eight locations in all). This included a comprehensive review of the outsourcing vendor’s MFDs, staffing levels, workflows, and processes. Additionally, Mattern interviewed the firm and the incumbent vendor staff to document all aspects of operations from execution to impressions of how operations were either successful or unsuccessful.

Based on this evaluation, and utilizing its industry knowledge, benchmarks, and long history with law firm operations, Mattern made several recommendations for the firm’s consideration that presented savings opportunities ranging from 12% to 27%. Mattern recommended staffing and operational improvements in each office to increase efficiency. Mattern also recommended contractual improvements to bring the firm up to the standards of the Mattern Method benchmarks. Importantly, Mattern suggested that the firm could bifurcate labor and equipment to maximize savings as an option. Mattern then collaborated with the firm to create a uniquely tailored Request for Proposal that addressed the firm’s areas of concern.

RESULTS
The RFP process yielded several viable providers with competitive bids. After a careful review, the firm elected to retain its current provider. However, the firm decided against awarding the incumbent provider both labor and equipment. This decision was influenced by the firm’s desire to maintain flexibility with its labor contract and pursue a more comprehensive equipment approach separately from labor.

Thus, the new agreement was a labor-only contract. With the new agreement, the firm gained substantial benefits, including:
- Right-sized staffing configuration
- Backfill allowance
- Untrained staff and staff underage credits
- Significantly improved terms and conditions, including firm-approved clauses regarding non-solicitation and severance
- Inclusion of National Account Program with executive sponsorship
- Guaranteed meeting requirements (monthly, quarterly, annually)
- Ownership of all non-MFD equipment
- Penalty-based service level agreements
- Contract term length suited to the firm’s long-term strategy

Through the Mattern process, the firm was able to enter into a contract that guaranteed it would receive the attention required all while decreasing month-to-month costs in excess of 20%. Mattern was also retained by the firm to oversee implementation for the project, as well as the ongoing monitoring of the contract for the implementation phase.

PART II EQUIPMENT RFP
The equipment RFP was sent to two vendors representing three different equipment manufacturers. After numerous rounds of pricing and onsite equipment demos overseen by the firm’s IT staff, the firm chose the same equipment platform it had under its previous outsourcing contract. The savings is projected to be 67% while obtaining 20% equipment flexibility, service response times backed up by penalties, and quarterly scorecards.

A prominent Texas-based law firm with over 260 attorneys and a 70+ year history enlisted Mattern’s expertise to address escalating offsite records storage costs. The firm sought a strategic solution to manage its paper records efficiently, aiming to reduce storage expenses and ultimately eliminate the need for offsite storage altogether.

Mattern Assists Texas-Based Law Firm in Consolidating Offsite Records Storage, Securing a 16% Cost Reduction Through Strategic Contract Negotiations

Mattern Assists Texas-Based Law Firm in Consolidating Offsite Records Storage, Securing a 16% Cost Reduction Through Strategic Contract Negotiations

Headquartered in Charlotte, this well-established 275-attorney firm with 8 offices serves clients throughout the southeast and Washington, DC.  The firm had multiple offsite records providers serving location-specific offices.  In an all-too-familiar scenario, a larger provider which housed a significant portion of the firm’s records had recently been purchased by another provider, the result of which had caused the firm’s service to go from bad to worse - including missing boxes - raising serious doubts as to the accuracy of the firm’s inventory.

Mattern Helps Regional Firm Consolidate Vendors, Increase Destruction Limits, and Win a Significant 31% Savings in Offsite Records Costs

Mattern Helps Regional Firm Consolidate Vendors, Increase Destruction Limits, and Win a Significant 31% Savings in Offsite Records Costs

With more than 80 attorneys, Woods Rogers PLC is one of the largest law firms in Virginia.

In 2020, the firm’s offsite records storage contract with their national provider was coming up for renewal.  After a complimentary benchmark by Mattern, Woods Rogers’ leadership knew their pricing and terms could be dramatically improved.

Mattern Helps Woods Rogers Find a Way Out of Prohibitive Offsite Storage Contract at No Cost to the Firm

Mattern Helps Woods Rogers Find a Way Out of Prohibitive Offsite Storage Contract at No Cost to the Firm

Pierce Atwood LLP is a multi-service law firm based in New England with over 160 attorneys in six offices in the northeast U.S. The firm utilized Mattern in the past to complete a competitive request for proposal process for their outsourcing services.

Pierce Atwood Turns Again to Mattern to Assist with Incumbent Outsourcing Renewal and Achieves 17% Savings

Pierce Atwood Turns Again to Mattern to Assist with Incumbent Outsourcing Renewal and Achieves 17% Savings

With nearly 400 attorneys across 24 domestic offices, this Southeast-based Am Law 200 firm had a firm-wide initiative to examine and strategically reduce back-office expenses.

Southeast-based Am Law 200 Firm Leverages Mattern to Find Savings and Improved Services in Office Supplies

Southeast-based Am Law 200 Firm Leverages Mattern to Find Savings and Improved Services in Office Supplies

This 350 attorney, New York-based firm is one of the leading law firms serving the financial services sector.

Mattern’s Contract Compliance Delivers Savings, Captures Headcount Reduction of 27% for Am Law 200 Firm

Mattern’s Contract Compliance Delivers Savings, Captures Headcount Reduction of 27% for Am Law 200 Firm

This 45-attorney, Northern California firm sought to improve costs and contract terms and conditions for its offsite records storage as well as on-site services including thousands of square feet of basement records storage, shredding services and also address an overall need to develop an information governance (IG) program that would allow for the defensible destruction of decades worth of records.

Northern California Firm Improves Information Governance Program and Reduces Offsite Records Storage Costs, Achieving High 6-Figure Savings

Northern California Firm Improves Information Governance Program and Reduces Offsite Records Storage Costs, Achieving High 6-Figure Savings

Marshall Dennehey is a highly regarded Am Law 200 firm with 500 attorneys across seven states. They have been practicing law for over 60 years and are one of the nation’s largest law firms devoted to civil defense litigation.

Mattern Helps Marshall Dennehey Reduce Office Supplies Spend by 33%

Mattern Helps Marshall Dennehey Reduce Office Supplies Spend by 33%

This Am Law 200 firm with 312 attorneys in 18 offices engaged Mattern in 2014 to analyze and make recommendations to improve the firm’s offsite records and ultimately lead a Request for Proposal (RFP) process and contract negotiation.

Mattern Helps Am Law 200 Firm Enhance Value of Offsite Records Contract with Ongoing Contract Compliance

Mattern Helps Am Law 200 Firm Enhance Value of Offsite Records Contract with Ongoing Contract Compliance

This Boston-based firm had approximately 3,000 cubic feet of files in storage with a national off-site records storage vendor the firm had targeted for destruction prior to the pandemic.

Mattern Reduces Records Destruction Costs by 62.5% for Boston Firm

Mattern Reduces Records Destruction Costs by 62.5% for Boston Firm

In 2022, Mattern was selected to evaluate traditional outsourcing services in 4 of its 19 offices for this Michigan-based Am Law 200 firm with more than 450 attorneys.

Mattern Helps Am Law 200 Firm Reshape Outsourcing Strategy for Substantial Savings and Wins Six-Figure Signing Incentive

Mattern Helps Am Law 200 Firm Reshape Outsourcing Strategy for Substantial Savings and Wins Six-Figure Signing Incentive

This Global 100/Am Law 100 firm has 700 attorneys and 13 domestic offices and had previously engaged Mattern to negotiate the firm’s offsite records contract, achieving solid results; however, when it came to renewal time, the firm’s long-standing provider proposed an increase in storage and service costs of up to 13% each year of the new term—an offer leadership felt could be better.

Mattern Turns Offsite Records Contract Renewal Into Significant Win for Global 100/Am Law 100 Firm, Incumbent Pays Fees

Mattern Turns Offsite Records Contract Renewal Into Significant Win for Global 100/Am Law 100 Firm, Incumbent Pays Fees

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