Rate Decisions Without the Full Picture
Every year, the department’s outside counsel firms submit proposed rate adjustments. Historically, evaluating those requests meant gathering information from multiple sources. Rate proposals arrived in different formats, feedback on firm performance was collected informally, if at all, and there was no easy way to see how a firm’s rates compared to the broader market.
Legal operations needed answers to a few essential questions before approving any increase: How has this firm actually performed for us? How do its current and proposed rates compare to similar firms? And what would the increase cost the department? Pulling those answers together by hand was time-consuming, and the result was often an incomplete picture.
The team wanted a consistent way to capture attorney feedback, evaluate firm performance, and assess pricing in context, all before sitting down to negotiate.
A Centralized Home for Rate Review
The department adopted Priori to bring structure, transparency, and data to its annual rate review. Instead of assembling information from inboxes and spreadsheets, legal operations now has everything needed to evaluate a rate request in one platform: performance feedback, rate proposals, and benchmarking insights.
Collecting Feedback Before Negotiations Begin
Timely performance data is the foundation of the process. Ahead of annual rate discussions, the team uses Priori’s review reminder functionality to prompt matter managers to submit feedback on their experiences working with firms and individual attorneys.
This means legal operations enters every rate conversation with current, first-hand insight into how each firm has performed, rather than relying on anecdotes or feedback gathered after the fact.
Structured Rate Requests Through a Dedicated Template
Firms submit their proposed rate adjustments through a dedicated Rate Review template in Priori. Every request arrives in the same structured, centralized format, eliminating the work of reconciling different submission styles and making requests easy to review side by side.
Benchmarking Both Price and Performance
With feedback and rate requests in place, legal operations uses Priori’s benchmarking tools to put each request in context:
Rate benchmarking shows how a firm’s current and proposed rates compare to peer firms, along with the potential impact of any increase on the department’s spend.
Review benchmarking compares each firm’s performance against other firms within the same pricing tier, so the team can see whether a firm’s quality justifies its price relative to comparable options.
Together, these views let the department evaluate not just what a firm charges, but whether it delivers value for that price.
What the Review Process Delivers
Rate Decisions Grounded in Data
Every increase request is evaluated against market benchmarks and firm performance, rather than informal impressions.
A More Efficient Review Cycle
Centralized feedback, standardized rate requests, and built-in benchmarking replace the manual work of gathering information from multiple sources.
Timely, First-Hand Performance Insight
Automated review reminders ensure matter manager feedback is captured before negotiations, when it matters most.
Stronger Negotiating Position
Clear visibility into peer rates and the cost impact of each increase gives legal operations a well-supported basis for rate discussions.
Performance and Price, Side by Side
Comparing firms within the same pricing tier helps the department reward strong performers and push back where value falls short.
Building a Year-Over-Year View
By bringing performance feedback, pricing data, and benchmarking into one platform, the department has turned its annual rate review into a repeatable, informed process. As feedback and rate data accumulate year over year, the team gains an increasingly clear view of how its firms perform and price over time, helping ensure rate decisions reflect both market dynamics and the value each firm delivers.
