Should Law Firms Proactively Cut their Fees?

I have to marvel at how some businesses do a phenomenal job measuring their performance, and how some business leaders then seem to hold endless meetings to figure out why their numbers keep going down. Have fewer customers quarter after quarter since, say, 2008? Do all other things remain the same—except there’s a glut of businesses like yours and of workers like those you hire and a lot of your work can be outsourced? Why wouldn’t a leader look to the recession as a likely cause?

I’m not surprised that a recent survey of legal departments by Robert Half Legal lists as one of the top challenges in 2013 controlling outside legal costs. Press Release, Robert Half Legal, Robert Half Legal Research Reveals Top Challenges Facing Legal Departments In Year Ahead (March 13, 2013). What I would like to see is a survey of outside firms indicating how they’re going to help corporate clients do just that. What excess will be trimmed? Will low-level associates be billed out at more reasonable rates? Will overall rates drop? Or will firms just wait until the corporate client looks elsewhere?