RFP Overview

RFP’s (Requests for Proposal) can be a helpful tool to assist in selecting the right law
firm for material matters. Best practices would suggest that companies should set a
threshold for matters expected to be a certain level spend or higher, for example all
matters over $25,000 or all matters over $50,000.

RFP’s should be as detailed as possible as it relates to the matter details and the
specific response items expected from the firms. In order to evaluate the responses
from the firm, it is best to have the firms respond with similar level of detail and
similar components, for example a preliminary budget. However, the requirements
should not be so rigid as to stifle creativity from your firms.

RFP’s should not be sent to an excessive number of firms as too many responses
may inhibit your ability to focus on each response and choosing the best fit. Four to
six trusted firms should be enough. RFP’s for significant matters may be more
suited to firms you have used in the past and with whom you have developed trust
and experience. For a material matter, you may not want to test out a new firm.
However, if the nature of the matter is one with which you have no past firm
experience, research potential firms carefully in advance of the RFP. References
from peers or others that you trust is a great source of new firms to consider.

You should not allow too much time for firms to respond. By keeping the timeline
tight, you will be able to come to a decision more efficiently. Two weeks or less is
recommended so as to not make the process spread out over too great a period of
time.

Planning the RFP Process

Before sending out an RFP, it’s important to formulate and document a strategy for
the entire RFP process. There are several important issues to be raised and
addressed at this initial stage.

1) Is an RFP appropriate for the anticipated work?

RFPs are not appropriate for all matters or engagements due to the time
commitments associated with the process, both for your department and
prospective firms. In most instances, RFPs should be limited to
engagements that will lead to a substantial amount of legal work, such as
a portfolio of similar matters, or a series of regular and routine work.
 RFPs may also be suitable for highly complex, significant, or novel
matters, and for establishing a panel of preferred providers. 1

2) Who will manage and work on the RFP process within your department?

Identify the individual(s) within your department who will lead and
assist with the RFP process. In addition, define who will act as a point of
contact to the prospective firms once an RFP has been issued. Large
organizations may find a RACI matrix is needed to indicate roles and
responsibilities both inside and outside the department.

3) What is a realistic timeline?

The process of creating, responding to, and evaluating an RFP can be time
consuming. Provide your department with sufficient time to create a
clear and concise RFP, and to evaluate the firms’ responses. 2 Also,
provide the prospective firms with a reasonable amount of time to
respond, more than two weeks if possible,3 with a clearly defined due
date and time.

4) How many firms should I include and how do I select them?

The number of firms that receive an RFP should be based on the breadth
and complexity of available work.4 Generally, more firms involved will
result in a more time-consuming and intensive assessment. Firm
selection may be based on several factors, including past relationships,
referrals, and industry reputation (informed by directories like The
Legal500),5 or legal benchmarking tools such as Sky Analytics by Consilio.

Communicating with the Firms

1 Michael R. Booden, et al., 504: Best Practices in Hiring Outside Counsel, ACCA’s
2003 Annual Meeting 9 available at
http://www.add.com/vl/public/ProgramMaterial/loader.cfm?csModule=security/
getfile&pageid=20527; Sally Schmidt et al, Best Practices in Preparing and
Responding to Requests for Proposals (RFPs), Lex Mundi(2013), 2, available at
www.lexmundi.com/Document.asp?DocID=671.
2 Sally Schmidt, et al., Best Practices in Preparing and Responding to Requests for
Proposals (RFPs), LexMundi (2013), 3, available at
www.lexmundi.com/Document.asp?DocID=671.
3 Id. at 2.
4 Id.
5 Id.
Communication is critical to the success of any RFP process.

Once you have identified the firms that will receive the RFP, provide those firms
with notification in advance of issuance. Be straightforward about the odds and
provide them with a brief outline of the entire process.6 Also, provide the firms with
a point of contact within your department for any substantive or technical
questions, respectively. Personalized communications will be received positively at
the firm when received from someone directly within your department. Remain
available for questions from the firm throughout the process.

After selection, make sure to follow-up with each firm that responded to the RFP.
Provide the firms that were not selected with feedback and be willing to discuss
your department’s decision.7 Encourage the firms to stay in touch if your
department is interested in possibly engaging with the firm for future work. 8

Crafting the RFP

Constructing narrowly tailored requirements and pointed questions is important, as
it will lead to a better evaluation of responses. However, the need for detail should
always be balanced with flexibility for the firms to provide creative and inventive
responses. Tools such as Consilio’s Sky Analytics RFP Manager App can help
facilitate the RFP creation process by offering a standardized form, highlighting
critical fields. Such automated tools can duplicate and review the department’s RFP
history, which can be leveraged to rapidly create a new RFP.

All RFPs should include some basic elements.

1) Project Overview: A descriptive name for the RFP, as well as detail

around the RFP and engagement timeline (due date, project start date,
etc.), and whether firms must adhere to billing guidelines.

2) Matter Details: A description of the services needed along with

background information about the matter (s) and your business
generally.9 Other considerations are matter or project location, matter

6 Id. at 3.
7 Id. at 4.
8 Jayne Navarre, In-House Counsel Panel: How General Counsel Evaluates and Hires
Law Firms, Virtual Marketing Officer (January 17, 2010) available at
http://virtualmarketingofficer.com/2010/01/17/how-general-counsel-evaluates-
and-hires-law-firms-marketing-partner-forum-recap/.
9 Schmidt, supra note 7 at 3.
 name and type, complexity and significance, as well as two free-form text
areas for descriptions of the matter or project and required deliverables.

3) Desired Pricing Model: Whether a standard hourly billing arrangement

or AFA, the law department should clearly communicate a preferred
billing type, or if there is no preference, allow the law firm to specify in
their response the billing model. In either case, the law department
should specify how the awarded firm must track and submit fees.

4) Description of Qualifications: A request for team bios and details about

each timekeeper’s expertise. If interested, request a copy of experience
within your industry.10 This can be added as a required response item.

5) Practice overview: A request for the firm or teams’ representative

experience as it directly relates to the RFP. This can be added as a
required response item.

Additional elements may include:

1) An inquiry into the firm’s billing procedures, including fee increases if

applicable.11

2) A request for the firm’s proposed management plan, including who will
be the lead and who will be doing the majority of the work.12
3) A request for detail around the firm’s business process, if applicable, as it
relates to: budgeting; document production and eDiscovery; LPOs;
project management; knowledge management; and, technology.13

4) An explanation of the firm’s experience with specific AFAs.14

10 James J. Stapleton, The RFP for Outside Counsel, InhouseBlog (June 1, 2014)
available at http://www.inhouseblog.com/rfp-for-outside-counsel/.
11 Id.
12 Id.
13 Colleen Scimeca, RFP initiatives are now a powerful strategy for selecting firms
and expanding AFA use, Inside Counsel (March 10, 2015) available at
http://www.insidecounsel.com/2015/03/10/rfp-initiatives-are-now-a-powerful-
strategy-for-se?slreturn=1487186986.
14 Id.
 5) Probing questions related to the firm’s approach toward specific legal
issues.15

Evaluating Firm Responses

It is recommended that you weigh and employ the following criteria to evaluate
each RFP response:

● Practice group expertise16

● Geographic coverage17

● Pricing18

● Proposed staffing19

● Willingness to use and familiarity with AFAs20

● Diversity21

● Tech capabilities22

● Creativity and consciousness of the response23

● Adherence to RFP guidelines24

● Timeliness25

15 Stapleton, supra note 10.

16 Scimeca, supra note 13
17 Id.
18 Id.
19 Schmidt, supra note 9, at 2.
20 Id.
21 Id.
22 Id.
23 Id.
24 Id.
25 Id.
References & Resources