A Fortune 50 oil and gas company was conducting a cost-cutting initiative and identified the need to evaluate the effectiveness of their outside counsel billing guidelines that had been in place for several years.

We performed an evaluation of law firm data submitted to their electronic billing solution over the past five years. The analysis focused on the following:

• Effectiveness of billing guidelines as it relates to bad billing practices as well as disbursements
• Various rates billed by role, graduation date, and individual timekeeper
• Invoice submission and review/approval timeline
• Diversity makeup of law firm timekeepers

Our analysis provided significant insights into the data and positioned the company to realize 7% in outside counsel spend. The evaluation resulted in modifications to outside counsel billing guidelines, locked in role-based rate cards, and new requirements that timekeeper profiles capture diversity information (if the individual has opted to provide). The latter is now serving as the foundation to measure and set future targets for optimal utilization of diverse teams.