What great interest there is in this issue! Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond or comment on it. The actual responses are listed below but the compilation reflects the general practices of billing by the hour, charging for out-of pocket expenses and coordinating with attorneys on what has been requested. The only downside mentioned was the prioritization of work for clients vs. work for firm attorneys.
Thanks again for all your help. I think we will move forward on this.
Cindy Adams
Long, Aldridge & Norman
*****
You can check our firm's web site http://www.brownrudnick.com. Click
on "For In-House Counsel", and library services are detailed there.
Actually, at the present firm, where I work part-time at a branch, I don't
get many requests from clients, but at my previous firm, where I was
director, I frequently worked with clients on a variety of requests.
They ranged from pulling cases to advice on setting up their in house law
library. Sometimes I worked directly and sometimes I worked in tandem with
the attorney or paralegal on the case. It depended on the request and how
much control the billing attorney wanted. Occasionally a request would be
inappropriate for me to handle, i.e. requiring legal analysis, at which time
I would refer them back to the billing attorney.
****
I do it informally, & I much prefer talking to the person involved instead of a third party. It's billed hourly, the same as everything else, & by a job number.
****
I was a law firm library director for 6 years at a firm in Madison,
Wisconsin. During that time I very actively outsourced library research
services to clients. Here are my answers to your questions:
- Services were billed at hourly rates. Sometimes they were "comped" on the
bills as a client service.
- I participated in client seminars to update clients on emerging areas of
the law (e-law, research methods, etc.)
- All out of pocket costs were billed separately.
- It was a very effective source of revenue for the firm, and an EXCELLENT
way in which to market the firm's library and our profession.
- After the attorney and I established rapport with a client, the client
would contact me directly, and I'd always CC the attorney on any results or
correspondence.
- My services were used often from the firm. I would definately do it
again if I were back in a firm.
- Drawbacks: Prioritizing between firm work and client work. Prioritizing
between client work and library management work. This service had a
"snowball" effect.
One of the clients for whom I outsouced my services is my current employer!
I think outsourcing library services to clients is an excellent way to
market the firm, its library, and library and information professionals.
I used to be on the Editorial Board of the Information Innovators
Newsletter, and I wrote an article on this topic. I'll dig it up and send
it to you.
******
I work for three law firms where my services are provided to clients. It is
rare that as a librarian that I have interface with the client. The client
presents the information question to the attorney, and the attorney directs
my research. My services are billed by the hour just like at attorney, but
at a different rate. Each financial arrangement (hourly or retainer) is all
in the hands of the billing attorney. I usually ask about the financial
arrangements before I do anything out of pocket like online research. The
attorney typicall will say something like "keep the costs down" or "bill the
heck out of it."
I have been a law librarian since 1976. I have never heard of our services
being marketed directly to the client, but I have frequently heard of our
services being an integral part of what the law firm delivers to the client.
*****
We do work directly with clients. We advertise on the web site and also the
Marketing Department uses a promotional piece when talking with clients. We
don't have a lot of business, a couple a month. Most of it is business
research. If it is a legal question they use the attorneys. We let the
attorney in charge of the client know what we are doing. We bill hourly and
include database charges as an extra charge. We don't have so much work
that it has interfered with internal research requests.
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