Law firms, which have spent the last year getting beaten up like never before, are planning to raise billable rates in ‘10. Clients, meanwhile, many of whom have also struggled through a lackluster ‘09, are at last playing hard ball. In other words, conflict looms.
Last month, Susan Blount, the general counsel of Prudential Financial, sent a letter to the 60 law firms the insurance giant uses regularly. The letter addressed the general economy and the need to cut costs, but one announcement stuck out: Prudential informed the firms that in calendar year 2010, the company expected to pay for […]