Mattern Helps Phelps Dunbar LLP Stop Unrealistic Rate Increases and Reduce Offsite Records Storage Contract Costs by 10%.

Phelps Dunbar LLP, a 360-attorney firm based in New Orleans, was experiencing a challenge common to many firms: unnecessary fees, unrealistic rate increases, and unmet service levels of the firm’s offsite records storage service provider. At the time, Phelps was engaged with three (3) service providers to service storage needs for their five (5) offices across the south. Not only were there inefficiencies in managing multiple sites, but there were no economies of scale of which to take advantage.

BACKGROUND
Phelps Dunbar LLP, a 360-attorney firm based in New Orleans, was experiencing a challenge common to many firms: unnecessary fees, unrealistic rate increases, and unmet service levels of the firm’s offsite records storage service provider. At the time, Phelps was engaged with three (3) service providers to service storage needs for their five (5) offices across the south. Not only were there inefficiencies in managing multiple sites, but there were no economies of scale of which to take advantage. When it came time to renew the contract with one of the service providers, leadership sought to improve its situation with contract terms that better protected the firm, including best in market rates.

OBJECTIVES
Phelps had a long-standing relationship with Mattern and, based on the success of the last Request for Proposal (RFP) that Mattern led for the firm and knowing the comprehensive nature of a Mattern analysis and benchmarking exercise via the Mattern Method®, firm leadership asked Mattern to lead the RFP process for the firm’s offsite records storage business. After Mattern created the RFP, and the firm approved it, the RFP was sent to the four service providers Phelps had selected including the 3 incumbents. The firm’s objectives included:

Addressing appropriate projected levels of destruction required over the next 10 years
Reducing overall storage expenses and improve contractual terms (i.e., minimum storage requirements)
Updating service delivery schedules per office
Vendor consolidation
Securing any potential unused destruction/withdrawal credits if an existing provider is awarded new contract

The project started with a thorough analysis of the firm’s current monthly cost, volume, and contract terms. As a result of the current state analysis, Mattern proposed contract modifications and offered digitization objectives as part of a data migration to electronic records. The analysis also uncovered contract terms and service level agreements that needed improvement and proposed ways to assist in an “electronic first” firm-mindset. Some of Mattern’s key recommendations included:

Obtain allowances for destruction and permanent withdrawal as well as negotiate reasonable rates for both
Improve pricing by consolidating to one storage provider and enhanced terms for annual increases and performance penalties
Adopt a firmwide records policy with retention schedules that apply to all records, regardless of format (hard copy or digital) or location and monitor compliance
Make electronic the official record and create a plan for data migration to electronic, minimizing the amount of paper records being sent offsite
Once the recommendations were established, Mattern managed the entire RFP process of the four (4) chosen service providers. After all proposals were submitted and interviews completed, Mattern presented the summary of RFP results.

OUTCOMES
Phelps elected to consolidate storage with one offsite service provider and chose to go with a 5-year agreement.

The new single contract allows for, most importantly, an annual allotment of destruction and permanent withdrawal amounts, and capped annual fee increases. Should the firm take advantage of these allotments, the projected savings for the project will be close to 10%.

In addition, upon execution of the new offsite records storage contract Phelps will realize in savings all fees and expenses projected at the time of the new service provider contract(s) within the initial twenty-four months of the new contract.

Leadership requested Mattern’s continued involvement (Phase III – monitoring and maintenance) by managing all box transfers to the new storage provider. Mattern will also review invoices and manage the firm-provider relationship to ensure all contract terms and pricing are being adhered to throughout the life of the contract.

Craig A. Oakman, the firm’s Director of Office Services & Facilities comments:

“Mattern did a great job of consolidating our offsite records contracts. They negotiated excellent terms that will allow Phelps to begin to reduce their offsite storage in a cost-effective manner.”

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.

Mattern’s Phase III Contract Compliance Program Achieves Maximum Value for Best Best & Krieger’s Office Supplies Contracts

This 320 attorney, AmLaw 200, Houston-based firm was in the throes of implementing a “work-cell” environment for their secretaries per practice area. The restructuring of staff and office layout required a different output strategy to be deployed in order to provide the tools and technology within close proximity to the work-cells, while also looking to reduce expenses. However, the firm had several expiration dates for their existing multi-function devices, requiring a creative plan for addressing replacements that also substantially improved the convenience and efficiency for the new work-cell environment.

AmLaw 200 Firm Shifts to Work-Cell Environment, Captures 24% in Cost Savings while Substantially Improving Operational Efficiency

This AmLaw 200, Chicago-based firm had taken advantage of outsourcing methods over the last couple of years; however, its current outsourcing and equipment contract was soon to expire. Since the firm renewed with the incumbent vendor the previous five years, they were interested in learning what other service bureaus were providing in the outsourcing marketplace. The firm also desired to determine whether they were staffed appropriately and operating under industry best practices and service levels with competitive pricing.

Chicago-based Firm Improves Workflow and Achieves 33% Annual Savings

This 250 attorney, Am Law 200, Washington D.C.-based firm had specific areas in which it was struggling; in particular, they were finding it difficult to keep current with technology, flexing to meet demand, and recovering costs for the internal systems and storage related to litigation support services (e-Discovery).

Am Law 200 Firm Gains Competitive Advantage and Charge Back Model to Recoup Costs for eDiscovery Managed Services

This 350 attorney, Am Law 200 firm based in Ohio had decided to outsource their in-sourced back-office operations and multi-function devices (MFDs) on a firm-wide basis five years prior. The contract was expiring and the firm was now considering outsourcing the on-site centralized Records and Information Management functions. As a result, the firm was interested in what other outsourcing companies’ capabilities were in the records space, how they may improve current services to the firm, and whether they had a competitive contract.

Am Law 200 Firm Saves on Costs, Improves Service Levels by Outsourcing Records and Selecting New MFD Vendor

This 250 attorney, AmLaw 200, Washington D.C.-based firm has 11 offices nationwide. The firm had multiple offsite records storage contracts in place and was interested in investigating cost-savings and efficiencies by consolidating vendors as well as creating a short and long-term strategy to reduce their offsite storage commitments.

Am Law 200 Firm Removes Permanent Withdrawal Fees, Consolidates Vendors and Saves 24% in Off-Site Record Storage