100% realisation on standard rates for commercial leases

Context

The Real Estate practice of a £12m UK regional law firm had been identified as an underperforming practice group.

Commercial lease transactions (acting for both tenants and landlords) were identified as a particular pain point as the firm was struggling to balance the high risks involved in these matters with the low price point clients were willing to pay.

Approach

Working with the Professional Support Lawyer, we moved from a single fee earner working the file from start to finish, to a more modular approach to matter delivery across three distinct phases:

• Matter set up - resourced primarily by PAs with more senior fee earners negotiating fees and allocating the work

• Matter delivery - allocated to a single fee earner with better matching of matter complexity with fee earner experience and specialism

• Matter completion - more junior fee earners preparing completion statements and post-completion filings, based on the standardised instructions from the more senior fee earner working the file

We also had clearly defined escalation points and risk triggers that escalated the matter to specialist resource to address (for example, Stamp Duty Land Tax returns).

We gained buy in from the partners to pilot the new approach within one of the offices, whilst retaining the current ways of working in another office.

This approach addressed change management concerns, principally around 'will it work?' and 'can we reverse it, if it doesn't?'

Impact

The pilot was so successful we concluded it earlier than planned and rolled out the revised approach across the two offices.

Productivity increased; the number of active matters hit an all time high with no increase in headcount or cost base for the practice.

Realisation against the firm's standard rates exceeded 100% for the first time in the practice group's history.