Spring 2020 Editorial

Welcome to the Spring edition of Mattern Matters. My name is Rob Mattern, president of Mattern, the leaders in making law firms back and middle office services more cost-effective and efficient. Current State of Affairs for the Legal Industry The start of 2020 has certainly been challenging and no vertical has been left untouched. I am writing this editorial as

the coronavirus continues to impact all of us, including the legal market.Firms are shutting down individual offices and swiftly implementing work from home, a true testament to the value of technology . The need for a digital/paperless office could not be more clear. Unfortunately, many firms are still trying to figure out digital workflow and all the pieces that are required to support this practice. This includes information governance to facilitate attorneys’ efficient access to client files wherever they are working as well as compliant practices even while legal work is performed out of the office. This means addressing electronic records, scanning of incoming mail, and the disposition of electronic records, etc.The next step of the impact of the coronavirus on law firms will be how quick and flexible they are in delivering information and back and middle office support for attorneys working remotely for an extended period.

Wherever your firm is on the spectrum of information governance and back and middle office support, we are all working together to make sure the delivery of services is uninterrupted. Please let us know if there is anything we can do to help during this challenging time.What’s the Deal with Outsourcing and Litigation Support/e-Discovery Cost Recovery?In this issue of Mattern Matters we are highlighting outsourcing and the recovery of litigation support/e-Discovery costs, including:

1. Addressing the fact that just under half of firms report that their outsourcing engagements are successful – except for 2016 when that number dropped to 40%, as discussed in our featured Law Journal Newsletters article “Outsourcing: How to Do Better Than Flipping a Coin.” The primary reason for this dissatisfaction is that most people negotiating these contracts don’t negotiate. They accept terms and pricing from the service provider completely unfavorable to their firms.

2. In conjunction with the outsourcing article, we highlight two case studies on successful outsourcing engagements. One is a firm that outsourced their in-house operation in their main office and consolidated their outsourced sites under a single provider. The other is a firm that was a long-term client of a service provider that needed to look at the market.

3. We wrap up the outsourcing portion by discussing “Seven Actions Your Firm Can Take to Impact Your Outsourcing” an important read for firms that suspect their outsourcing operations to be overstaffed, over-equipped with services that are over-priced.

4. In finalizing our 1st annual 2020 e-Discovery and Litigation Support Cost Recovery Survey results, we include a short piece that discusses the Survey and some of the results. As a bonus, you will find a case study that puts the focus on a firm that revamped their litigation support cost recovery model and increased their recoveries by 35%.

5. Lastly, we continue our “Meet the Consultant” series and put the spotlight on Ed Warren, our office supplies and Phase III Contract Compliance guru/consultant who has been with us for 13 years. No one deserves the attention more.

Final Notes We hope that you find this issue of Mattern Matters extremely useful. If you are considering outsourcing your firms back and middle office and in need of an expert, unbiased point of view, give us a call. We get it done right. Furthermore if you would like to receive an overview of the 2020 e-Discovery and Litigation Support Cost Recovery Survey results, fill out the form here and we will get back to you promptly.Until the next edition,Rob Mattern