Worried your law firm will resist a new spend management system? Here’s why they might surprise you
Securing stakeholder buy-in is often one of the biggest challenges when implementing a new platform. At the CLOC Australia Summit, Geocon General Counsel Mark Flint and Clayton Utz Partner Geoff Shaw shared insights on how they successfully overcame this hurdle.
“Oh, here we go… another administrative hurdle!”
That was Geoff Shaw’s first thought when his client at Geocon asked him to use AllyOne, a new legal spend management platform.
But what began as reluctant compliance soon became genuine enthusiasm.
Geoff, a litigation partner at Clayton Utz, shared his journey using a new legal spend platform at the recent CLOC Conference in Sydney, together with Mark Flint, GC at Geocon.
Their experience holds many lessons for any in-house team worried about law firm resistance to changing billing practices.
Show your firm it’s about strengthening relationships, not cost-cutting
For years, Mark Flint had struggled with scope creep and unpredictable legal fees.
“We don’t have any issue with spending money on lawyers,” Mark explained. “Our main problem was clarity and transparency.”
By making that purpose explicit to Clayton Utz, Mark avoided the suspicion that using AllyOne was just about squeezing costs.
Instead, it opened the door to conversations about shared benefits like trust and alignment.
Getting paid on time
No-one enjoys chasing invoices.
But when payment depends on a client manually reviewing and approving each one, delays are almost guaranteed.
With AllyOne, invoices that match the agreed budget are automatically approved, which has been a game-changer for Geoff.
“On any given month, I might be sending a dozen invoices to Mark,” Geoff said.
“One or two slip down the priority list, and then 30–60 days later I’m on the phone chasing payment.”
Now, when an invoice gets accepted into the system, Geoff knows it will flow through to payment, and he can focus on higher-value work.
Resolve invoice disputes faster
Invoice disputes are a common frustration in the legal business.
Out-of-scope work happens, often for good reason, but identifying it weeks later can lead to messy disputes, late nights with spreadsheets, and endless back-and-forth between client and law firm.
AllyOne flags out-of-scope invoices immediately, prompting a timely conversation before the issue snowballs.
Take the shock factor out of fee proposals
It’s not always a comfortable experience for a lawyer to present their client with one big, daunting number for a legal matter.
“In litigation, anything can and will happen,” Geoff said.
“If I set up every scenario, you’ll fall off your chair with the amount of legal costs – even though many of these costs might not be needed in the end.”
Instead, using AllyOne Geoff now breaks proposals into necessary, likely, and possible costs.
This shifts the conversation from “sign here on the big scary number” to an open discussion about what might come up and how to handle it.
Encourage your firm to focus on outcomes, not just hours
One unexpected benefit for Geoff in changing his approach to billing was how it changed his team’s approach to billing time to a project.
“Most lawyers want to come to the office, bill, and leave it to the partner to worry about how the time gets recorded,” Geoff said.
“But this has really encouraged a consciousness within my team around what we are doing and how it fits within my client’s objectives.”
This has not only helped his team become more client-focused, but it has also sharpened their scoping and project management skills.
Choose law firms who will join you for the journey
Asking a law firm to change their systems can feel risky but being clear about the benefits helps.
Nonetheless, some law firms will resist change regardless of the benefits.
But as Geocon’s experience with Clayton Utz shows, those who do embrace change are showing they’re willing to adapt and innovate alongside you.
And by learning and discovering together, you can end up with both better legal outcomes and stronger, more enduring relationships
Contact us to learn more about enhancing the value of your legal spend.