Thanks to those who responded to my query about rethinking online legal
service contracts. You've provided me much food for thought.
No one responded that they had canceled a contract mid-term. A few
people are interested in the idea, but I didn't hear from anyone who has
successfully done it. Some did not renew contracts at the end of the
term, some have hired consultants to help them renegotiate a better
contract, and a few responded that they have tried to add more products
(across companies even) to the contracts they already have. One
librarian responded that there were discussions on an ALA listserv a
couple of weeks ago, but I'm not on that listserv. It's an area of
interest, but I didn't get a sense of how far people are progressing -
is it something they have talked about just within the firm, or have
they actually started to talk to Lexis or Westlaw about making changes.
This leads me to some more questions for those considering the same
issues right now:
1. For those who are asking for more from their current contracts -
what are you asking for? Are you just adding new content, or are you
removing some? How else are you changing your contract? While we're
focused on costs right now, are you able to get more value for your $?
2. Are you using consultants more? Are you seeking professional
help now when you wouldn't have done it in the past?
3. Are negotiations or changes that you may have made confidential?
Please speak out if you are doing or asking for something new or
different, even if you think it's something small! We're not exactly
trail-blazers here, and the first question I get asked is "what are
other firms doing?" At my firm, for now, we have decided to focus on
billing more and reducing out-of-contract use to improve our numbers.
While thinking about contract possibilities, I haven't reached any
conclusions yet.
Thanks much, Laurie
Laurie Daley
Librarian
Bullivant|Houser|Bailey PC
888 S.W. Fifth Avenue, Suite 300
Portland, OR 97204
mailto:laurie.daley@bullivant.com
direct dial: 503.499-4603 - fax: 503.295.0915
http://www.bullivant.com
Seattle . Vancouver . Portland . Sacramento . San Francisco . Las Vegas
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