Pricing is a key lever influencing and driving financial performance as well as a pressure point for law firms as their clients demand more for less and a better balance between pricing and value.
Toronto-based consultant Nancey Watson sat down recently with Stuart Dodds, director of Global Pricing and Legal Project Management for Baker McKenzie, to discuss the current state of law firm pricing and the evolving role of the pricing professional. Stuart Dodds is responsible for the development of the Baker McKenzie’s global pricing and legal project management strategy and provides targeted pricing, negotiation and project management support to partners and client-facing colleagues across the firm’s 77 offices worldwide.
For anyone interested in law firm management this is an insightful interview and so well worth taking some time out to read in full.
The interview kicks off with a discussion about the initial catalyst for the role of pricing professionals in law firms; and then moves on to examine the structure which work best for the pricing function; and the most frequent challenges faced by these professionals at law firms.
The interview also considers different types of fee approaches, and pricing methodologies commonly used in law firms today particularly within the parameters of market vs. value vs. cost plus.
There are suggestions for how law firms can meet the client challenge of “more for less” and various pricing approaches by practice area are looked at. To end the discussion Dodds and Watson consider the likely the evolution of the pricing role within the legal industry with a particular emphasis on the transformative effect that technology will have.
Have a look at the full interview over at the Thomson Reuters Answers On blog.
