Big Biz Scoring System for Law Firm Hires
Two big-name companies based in Switzerland are now using a new scoring system to determine what law firms to hire.
Zurich, a well-known insurance carrier, announced this week that it rates law firms on about 10 factors, including cost, responsiveness and “personalities,” reports Legal Week. “The insurer now hopes to expand the process with an improved IT operation when former Barclays’ head of corporate, Neil Hodges, steps into the role of UK general counsel later this year,” the British legal newspaper writes.
Zurich’s announcement followed news earlier in the month that Swiss banking giant UBS had implemented a similar scoring system, as part of what Legal Week describes in another article as a “radical review of its global legal advisors in an attempt to slash costs and become one of the first top financial institutions to formally grade law firm performance.”
The Zurich system awards from one to five points in each of seven areas, including cost, quality of skills and speed of work. It has been in use since June, but results apparently will be formally reviewed by executives for the first time Nov. 1.
