Legal Departments Sending Less Cash to Big Law, Survey Says

Corporate law departments are spending more, but less of that that money is landing in Big Law coffers, according to a new survey.

More than half of the law departments that responded to Altman Weil’s 19th Annual Chief Legal Officer survey increased their spending between 2017 and 2018. But about a third of legal officers shifted work done by major firms to lower-priced alternatives, the data indicated.

Corporate legal counsel “are successfully using smaller law firms that offer quality work and service at considerable reductions in cost,” the survey said.

Small firms are not the only beneficiaries, however, said Rees ...