Best Practices for Engaging with Outside Counsel

In-house legal teams often face challenges in managing transaction overflow, ensuring compliance, and providing timely guidance. Engaging outside counsel can be a strategic solution to these challenges. Here are some best practices for in-house legal teams to effectively collaborate with outside counsel:

1. Determine the need for Outside Counsel

Before reaching out to outside counsel, evaluate whether the matter requires external expertise or can be handled internally. Consider factors such as:

• Complexity and Focus: Legal matters involving specific legal knowledge may benefit from external expertise.
• Resource Availability: Assess your team's current workload and capacity to determine if outsourcing is necessary to meet deadlines and maintain efficiency.

2. Develop Clear Outside Counsel Guidelines (OCGs)

Establishing comprehensive OCGs ensures that the Outside Counsel understands your organization's expectations, procedures, and workflow. Effective OCGs should:

• Enter Well Defined Engagement Letter: The engagement letter with Outside Counsel should clearly define the goals for any specific matter or ongoing need, and outline expectations.
• Offer Clear Instructions: Outline operational aspects such as invoicing procedures, staffing requirements, billing practices, and internal communication.
• Be Concise and Understandable: Use straightforward language to ensure guidelines are easily comprehensible.
• Address Practice Area Nuances: Tailor guidelines to accommodate differences across various legal specialties.

3. Establish Communication Channels

Maintaining communication with outside counsel can make or break the experience.

• Designate Relationship Managers: Assign in-house attorneys to oversee interactions with specific external firms, ensuring consistency and accountability.
• Schedule Regular Updates: Hold periodic meetings to discuss case progress, address concerns, and align on strategies.
• Utilize Technology: Leverage legal tech platforms for seamless information sharing and collaboration. Useful tools include Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, and Microsoft Office 365.

4. Monitor Performance and Costs

To ensure value from external engagements:

• Establish Metrics: Identify key metrics to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of outside counsel.
• Conduct Regular Reviews: Assess the quality of work, adherence to budgets, and overall satisfaction with services provided.
• Negotiate Fee Arrangements: Consider alternative fee structures that align with your organization's financial objectives, such as a subscription model.
• Discuss Internally: Speak with your internal team about the experience with each outside counsel and determine whether it is working or not.

5. Foster Long-Term Partnerships

Building strong relationships with outside counsel can lead to improved collaboration and better results. To cultivate these partnerships:

• Provide Constructive Feedback: Share insights on what is working well and areas for improvement.
• Recognize Excellence: Acknowledge and reward outstanding service to motivate continued high performance.
• Engage in Joint Training: Collaborate on training sessions to ensure external partners are aligned with your company's culture and practices.

By implementing best practices, in-house legal teams can effectively manage transaction overflow, ensure compliance, and provide robust guidance, all while maintaining control over costs and engaging effectively with outside counsel. If you are looking to engage with experienced outside counsel, please contact us.

This post is not legal advice, and does not establish any attorney client privilege between Law Office of K.S. Kader, PLLC and you, the reader. The content of this post was assisted by generative artificial intelligence solutions.