Impact of Neglecting to Build a Strong PANEL

The challenge I hear from most GCs and in-house legal leaders, is a proliferation of law firms that service an organization when there isn’t a program to manage the process.  

Different departments (not just legal) across an organization often become targets of "business development initiatives" of well-meaning legal service providers. The next thing you know, you have dozens then hundreds of law firms claiming to be part of your external legal panel. This means a myriad of retainer terms, varying billing rates and practices, and sometimes, uneven business relationships, and ultimately, a blind spot over your organization’s legal spend. 

There also comes a time when you want to be able to call on your ‘go-to’ firm, because you need someone who has a deep understanding of your business, your stakeholders, even your internal politics. 

Without taking time to build a select PANEL of firms that you call ‘an extension of your legal team’, you risk quality control, cost predictability, and unnecessary surprises when the firms’ practices and values do not align with your organization’s purpose and mission.

What SEAL accomplishes for you, is a (short but commensurate with the size of your organization) panel of reputable law firms, whose cyber security stance meets your risk standards and whose business values are aligned with yours, that you can call on with confidence, knowing they will provide you with the expert advice you need, at the price that you are comfortable with, and who will deliver the level of service you expect. Thanks,Jolie