Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani has received Buying Legal Council’s Legal Procurement 2021 Innovation Award along with partners Velan Valve Corp. and Catalyst Consulting. The winning project was led by Mark Tuvim, Managing Partner of the firm's Seattle office, with Sabine Bruckert of Velan Valve Corp. and Richard Stock of Catalyst Consulting.
Velan Valve Corp. sought a more strategic approach to managing its United States litigation portfolio with significant changes to resource allocation, legal pricing practices, and annual terms of engagement. This involved replacing 21 firms in 25 states with a single National Defense Counsel for five litigation categories, with all needs being met by the firm’s 50 state platform.
The firm's national strategy was created to meet client demands for a 50-state platform that would provide consistently outstanding legal services throughout the nation, and was developed in parallel with the ongoing growth and consolidation of American businesses and industries that has taken place over the past several decades.
The project included new staffing distributions and a series of assumptions and analysis incorporated into the statement of work for a comprehensive Strategic Partnering Agreement. The work was sufficient to support a hybrid fixed fee and collar arrangement that balances risk and reward for both the company and the firm.
Within a fairly short time, not only was the team able to analyze the data and come to a structured way of organizing the types of matters, they also replaced the 31-year business model by consolidating to one National Defense Counsel that will also serve as National Coordinating Counsel.
Their legal fees are more predictable in the face of industry trends for litigation volumes and costs. The firm’s commitment and experience has allowed Velan Valve Corp. to achieve significant improvements and savings.
To learn more about this award, please click here.