Frequently Asked Questions

A:  RFx Legal offers supply chain technology that enables legal departments to identify appropriate legal service providers, automate the RFP process, analyze/compare service offerings, and negotiates rates. By increasing competition among service providers, the RFx Legal software drives down costs of legal services while increasing value and strengthening relationships. At the same time, RFx Legal streamlines the engagement process, and expands branding and business opportunities for legal service providers.

A:  The RFx Legal Decision Optimization tool is designed to help legal departments and legal service providers make more informed decisions on how to allocate their resources most efficiently. The RFx Legal Services Network provides access to qualitative metrics on legal service providers, enabling users (in-house counsel) to conduct searches for appropriate providers based on detailed criteria. This comprehensive database contains relevant information about U.S. law firms, lawyers, and other legal service providers. The RFx Legal Spend Analysis module provides comprehensive visibility into the organization's legal services spend data. With detailed analysis and reports, our Spend Analysis Tool enables customers to access and analyze spending patterns by practice area and matter, identify savings opportunities and make more informed legal spending decisions.

A:   How do you know that the discount offered is the best rate? The "market rate" is the best value at the lowest cost. Only when service providers truly compete is it possible to determine the market rate. Even when discounts are offered, there may still be savings left on the table. Without market competition, you'd never know it.

A:   Developed by industry experts with decades of legal industry domain expertise, the RFx Legal Services Network is the most comprehensive source of information about legal service providers relevant to buyers of legal services. Additionally, RFx Legal is constantly aggregating data and metrics on its service providers from some of the industry's most trusted legal media and intelligence sources.

A:   Balancing value and costs is not only the top priority for legal departments in companies of all sizes, but it is a vital component of corporate strategy and competitive advantage. Moreover, reducing the number of outside counsel firms, requiring discounted fees and/or alternative fee arrangements, using RFPs to source legal work, and setting restrictions on associate experience levels are some examples of the ways in which clients are attempting to achieve this objective. The trend simply can't be ignored, and many industry experts predict permanent changes to the industry. Because RFx Legal solves the value/cost issue for companies, law firms and other service providers can demonstrate a commitment to client business objectives by joining the RFx Legal Services Network. Additionally, law firms benefit from expanded work opportunities and market exposure, and a streamlined RFP response process that drastically lowers client acquisition and service delivery costs.

A:   The RFx Legal application will drive cost savings to legal departments of at least 20%. Because an annual subscription amounts to a fraction of those savings, the return on investment is substantial. Additionally, electronic procurement is not a new concept for corporate purchasing departments. In fact, e-procurement is the "norm" for how large enterprises purchase products and some types of services. It's merely new in its application to legal services. Consequently, most procurement departments will embrace the value of RFx Legal's application because it's a proven method of achieving savings and increasing value.

A:   As the legal services category expert, RFx Legal delivers the only electronic sourcing application tailored for the collaborative and complex legal services engagement process. In addition, our customers have access to the RFx Legal Service Network, a robust database of information and metrics on legal service providers that is highly relevant to companies in their selection of outside counsel. Finally, we offer experienced legal industry consultants with decades of domain expertise to assist with spend analysis, the sourcing and engagement process, and with legal services value optimization.

A:   RFx Legal meaningfully addresses a top priority and concern for legal departments – balancing value with the costs of legal services. For that reason, law firms and other service providers can demonstrate a commitment to clients by joining the RFx Legal Services Network. Additionally, law firms benefit from expanded work opportunities and market exposure, as well as a streamlined RFP response process. The electronic format, customized specifically for legal service providers, allows firms to respond much more quickly and efficiently to RFPs and RFIs, and to store and repurpose its responses and/or marketing information for future use.

A:   While our application drastically streamlines the response process for RFIs and RFPs, it can also be used by companies to search for and engage appropriate outside counsel. The RFx Legal Services Network contains the most comprehensive source of information about legal service providers with data and metrics most relevant to buyers of legal services. Consequently, joining the RFx Legal Services Network is an opportunity to build market exposure and expand your client base.

A:   RFx Legal delivers a much more targeted branding opportunity than traditional firm marketing or business development tactics. Additionally, the return on investment is significantly higher and more measurable because of the existence and accessibility of actual work opportunities. Finally, the electronic RFP response format, customized specifically for legal service providers, allows firms to respond much more quickly and efficiently to RFPs and RFIs, and to store and repurpose that information for future use.

A:   Yes. Law firms are also buyers of legal services, including expert witness services, eDiscovery services, legal staffing, court reporting services, document imaging, etc. Consequently, law firms can drive cost savings and increase value by using RFx Legal in the same ways that legal departments do: by reducing the number of service providers, leveraging buying power, negotiating rates, and by streamlining the engagement process.