An attorney in India costs $ 10,000...for a year

As the economy tanked and big firm attorneys started losing their jobs by layoff or firm implosion, the lives of a contract attorneys came out from the shadows. The discrpenecy in hourly rates between a contract attorney and a BigLaw firm attorney is extreme but for many it was a necessary shift. For another change in perspective, imagine the discrepency from tens of thousands of dollars per year to ten thousand dollars...for the entire year.

The rate difference between between a U.S. attorney and an outsourced attorney was one solid takeaway from today's LMA Southern California program, "Inside the Minds of Corporate Counsel". The message: make sure you are taking care of your client's needs (not your own) or they might not be your client tomorrow. Buzz points from the four panelists recapped below.

Kim Fogarty, GC, Ellison: "Information initiative" that many firms have embarked on by sending e-alerts to keep counsel aware of news/cases that affect their business is very much appreciated; she appreciates outside counsel that know her business so that she doesn't have to spend time catching them up to speed
Jerry Lovejoy, GC, El Pollo Loco: wants to team with a problem solver; what resources can you bring; even if you are winning cases for a client, make sure that you are demonstrating your value and that your rate is in line with your service
Rosanne M. Nolan, Assistant General Counsel, Insco Insurance Services, Inc.: outside counsel needs to demonstrate value that she can easily convey to her bosses; a pound of paper (bill) doesn't demonstrate value and she doesn't want to spend valuable time deciphering a bill to explain an outside attorney's value to her boss; marketing tip: clean your database before sending an e-blast. As half 0f a 2 member in-house legal department based in Irvine, she will not be attending the golf game on Wednesday in New York she was invited to, this will just get you in her spam filter;
Zack Zaharek, Sr. Corp Counsel, First American - Core Logic: value of a real face to face relationship; find out what my needs are and be of service; his first day on the job as inside counsel for a hair product company he spent shampooing hair in a salon--get to know his business in the same way; he is looking into outsourcing some work to cut costs

Moderator: Stuart Blake, Managing Principal, The General Counsel