Are you looking forward to negotiating the next renewal of your legal research contract? It can be a tricky process for even the savviest of law firms and the results are anything but predictable. Who knows? At this very moment, you could be paying more for the same exact content used by competing law firms in your area. You might even have the same sales rep but still have dramatically different costs. Could there really be such a discrepancy between rates from one firm to the next? Maybe. But if it’s true, it all comes down to negotiation.
Negotiating with leading research providers is often vexing for most firms. In a 2021 survey of law firms that contract with Westlaw, Lexis or both, the majority of people surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with the negotiation process. Let’s take a look at the top five reasons why firms would rather do anything else than negotiate with Westlaw and Lexis.
Key Negotiation Challenges
- Lack of transparency during the negotiation process: Firms rightly feel that their sales reps withhold information like consistent price lists, a la carte options and annual percentage increases.
- Providers have more leverage: Since no other providers have the scope of services offered by Westlaw and Lexis, most reps are not incentivized to provide better pricing to their customers.The reps direct the narrative as they see fit.
- The lengthy negotiation process: Haggling over costs can drag out for weeks. Most firms simply do not have the non-billable hours to waste, and often give in to a lesser deal to save the hassle.
- The hard sell: Some of the reps can be big bullies when it comes to negotiation. They employ hard sales tactics that are rather unnecessary in a professional relationship.
- A fruitless effort: Firms have complained that they spend hours in negotiation with no savings. Even if the result is no increase, it can be frustrating to work so hard to break even.
You probably recognize at least one or two of these issues in your own experience with Westlaw and Lexis. If you do not, consider yourself lucky — and double check your contract. It never hurts to be cautious when the bottom line is involved. Individuals in our recent legal research survey also noted the following tactics to watch for:
- Reps push the all inclusive package but deep down know you’re only going to use a fraction of it
- Excessive sales jargon that is confusing or misleading
- False deadlines designed to create a sense of urgency
- Overzealous reps who care only for their own commission and bonus
As you can see, there are good reasons for firms to dread negotiating renewal contracts with their legal research provider. A lack of transparency and leverage, coupled with deceptive or hard sell tactics can make the process frustrating, time consuming and expensive. However, with costs for products and services rising in every industry, law firms should try to do everything possible to counter these common tactics and secure the best deal possible.
Legal Counsel Consulting has the resources to evaluate contracts to assure competitive pricing.
If there is any way I can help or if you would like to schedule a brief conversation, please feel free to contact me.