Camerons invites clients to pay what they want for legal work
CMS Cameron McKenna has launched a marketing campaign to promote its alternative billing structures, which include a ‘pay what you think its worth’ option, to clients.
Duncan Weston
The firm has sent a document outlining its alternative fees arrangements to 3,500 existing and prospective clients. The alternatives on offer include a fixed rate model, allowing for monthly payments to the firm, and a one-stop option that rewards clients for placing the majority of its work with Camerons.
The document - ‘The future of fees’ - confirmed that Camerons has already agreed a ‘pay us what you think the work is worth’ deal with a client described as “an experienced purchaser of legal services”.
The firm has also offered a major oil client a proposal that would match fees to the price of oil. Meanwhile, a ‘no questions asked’ annual fixed price one-stop deal has been offered to an unnamed power client.
Managing partner Duncan Weston and senior partner Richard Price will visit a selection of clients to discuss the billing options with them. Factors that make clients eligible for lower feesinclude agreeing to have an associate manage large portions of work, agreeing to give Camerons more than a third of all legal work, and being able to supply work across practice groups.
Many of the structures have been in place as options available to Camerons clients for some time, but the document is a sign that the firm is pushing to win new business by offering innovative pricing arrangements.
“We’re communicating to the client about what’s available to them,” said head of new business Damian Taylor.
“It’s part of legal procurement becoming smarter. It’s been a feature of the last year or so that clients say we have to think harder about fees. For some it’s about the rate, and for some it’s about what they get for that rate.”
Taylor was one of the Camerons pricing team that put together the document. Price, managing director of business development Judith Prime and business improvement manager Anthony Widdop complete the line up.
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Readers' comments (28)
Radiohead of The Law Firm World | 5-Aug-2010 3:37 pm
Hi Duncan
I am the CEO of a large Fortune company contemplating a hostile takeover of a major Chinese rival. Our combined market cap is around USD80bn.
Can you handle the M&A work, plus any associated merger filings, and regulatory issues.
I'll give you a fiver and a bag of revels.
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Lemonhead | 5-Aug-2010 4:01 pm
Duncan,
I would be willing to pay a tenner and two packs of minstrels for work similar to that offered by the previous poster.
Cheers
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Anonymous | 5-Aug-2010 4:05 pm
Sounds innovative. Shows a willingness to consider value and risk in pricing. Good on CMS.
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Anonymous | 5-Aug-2010 4:37 pm
It'll be interesting to see how these structures impact on next year's financials at the firm.
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Sir Gallahad | 5-Aug-2010 4:38 pm
Slaughters already do something like this.
I once gave them a samurai sword and first pick of my progeny for a beautifully-handled private placement.
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Anonymous | 5-Aug-2010 5:29 pm
Can i offer you my body?
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Dayglo Dave | 5-Aug-2010 5:39 pm
Anonymous 4:37pm is dead right. Will be very interesting. This appears to be classic Prisoner's Dilemma as applied to economics. Perhaps inevitable. I don't suppose anyone in the London Top 20 is going to thank Camerons for being the first to break. A shame that so much emphasis is now being placed on price. Whilst this won't go quite the same way as High Street residential conveyancing charges during the past 25 years, it will unfortunately hasten the decline in profits for major law firms generally. Camerons will, of course, get more work in the short term.
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neutral corner | 5-Aug-2010 5:42 pm
I think this is admirable, brave and progressive - at last a law firm is ready to break the mould and be judged by the value it delivers and not the time it expends. Expect the predictable catcalls from the risk-averse, change-hating doom-mongers who are happy to reject ideas from their platform of ignorance and self-interest.
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one born every day | 5-Aug-2010 9:20 pm
pay peanuts, get Cameron Mckenna monkeys! Idiots
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Ashley Balls | 5-Aug-2010 11:03 pm
This pricing structure is not new and has been used for some years by Boston based Exemplar Law www.exemplarcompanies.com It works well and clients like it. The actual mechanism is practical and ensures all parties fully understand the expecations of the other BEFORE commencement of the matter. The key to success is clear and concise two way communications.
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