Generally, it’s completely mandatory for purchasers to make use of a number of regulation companies for a single matter. For example, if a shopper needs their typical counsel to look in a lawsuit in a jurisdiction the place their typical counsel will not be licensed to apply, they could additionally want to interact native counsel. As well as, typically a matter would possibly require litigation and ancillary proceedings that can not be dealt with by a single agency. Nevertheless, when purchasers use a number of regulation companies for a similar matter, sure inefficiencies could come up that may be averted if the shopper makes use of only one regulation agency to deal with the authorized work.
After I was a Biglaw affiliate, I labored on a big litigation matter on behalf of one among our purchasers. I used to be perplexed to find that the shopper had employed each our agency and one other giant regulation agency to characterize them on this matter. I nonetheless am undecided why the shopper determined to go together with two regulation companies to deal with this lawsuit. Maybe the shopper believed the lawsuit was too giant for only one regulation agency? This didn’t appear affordable since each companies had lots of of attorneys every. I think that some sort of inside politics compelled the hiring of two regulation companies — maybe to please totally different factions of the shopper’s authorized division.
In any case, engaged on a matter with a special regulation agency created administrative challenges. Firstly, the opposite regulation agency and our regulation agency wanted to spend vital time deciding who would deal with numerous duties associated to the lawsuit and conveying data that was found by one regulation agency which may not have been realized by the opposite. As well as, for the reason that shopper wished each companies to log out on vital elements of the illustration, we might evaluate the opposite agency’s work, and they’d evaluate our work, which probably added to the charges billed. This may need enhanced the work product, however it’s unclear if this was well worth the elevated authorized charges.
Different inefficiencies had been created since our agency tried at each step of the method to point out that we had been doing a greater job than the opposite agency or that the opposite agency had made errors within the duties it was assigned to deal with. Companions at our agency probably wished to place themselves in a greater place to obtain extra work from this shopper, so that they tried to undermine the opposite store at each flip. I bear in mind I as soon as drafted a memo particularly outlining errors that the opposite agency had made on a selected undertaking in order that the companion might use this as ammunition when speaking concerning the deficiencies of the opposite store. I can’t be fully positive, however I’ve to imagine that attorneys on the different agency had been doing all the things they may to undermine our agency in order that they too might higher place themselves to obtain extra work from the shopper.
In lots of cases, two heads are higher than one, and purchasers are likely to get higher work product if extra attorneys are reviewing papers and conducting analysis on behalf of the shopper. Nevertheless, purchasers mustn’t create inefficiencies in a illustration by offering incentives that give legal professionals a purpose to expend time and assets on anything than greatest serving a shopper. Accordingly, it hardly ever is sensible to rent two regulation companies to deal with the identical matter on behalf of a shopper. In most conditions, a shopper shall be greatest served by hiring one regulation agency to deal with a whole authorized matter in order that purchasers don’t have to take care of the executive points related to a number of regulation companies dealing with one matter.
Jordan Rothman is a companion of The Rothman Legislation Agency, a full-service New York and New Jersey regulation agency. He’s additionally the founding father of Pupil Debt Diaries, a web site discussing how he paid off his pupil loans. You possibly can attain Jordan by way of electronic mail at jordan@rothman.regulation.
