Broadening the legal supplier base to help fuel innovation
Redefining supplier engagement through a capabilities-driven panel
The challenge
In line with its strategy to place efficiency at the core of the legal function, a large global financial services company sought to expand and diversify its legal supplier base to access more creative, innovative suppliers through the creation of a dedicated panel for ALSs (Alternative Legal Services).
Whilst there were existing pockets of engagement with ALS providers already in place, the bank recognised untapped potential throughout the legal function to leverage ALS providers who could offer a different approach to certain types of work.
Our Legal Operations Consulting team (LOC) was therefore engaged to help create a panel that would enable the client to access new, creative legal solutions aligned with its overall strategic goals.
The solution
Creating a future-proof structure
Firstly, recognising that there is a significant blurring of lines taking place between different suppliers in the legal industry, LOC collaborated closely with the bank's legal and procurement teams to design and introduce a new, capabilities-based structure for the bank's panel.
This structure categorised suppliers based on the type of service they offered, rather than the type of supplier they were, and was based on an extensive mapping of the types of ALS the client anticipated requiring over the next few years. This approach will not only encourage suppliers to diversify their own offerings and build more expansive relationships with the client, but will also future-proof the client’s own structure against changes in the market over the coming years, meaning less confusion about who can and should be instructed in different scenarios.
Challenging suppliers to think differently
Once the structure was agreed, LOC worked with the bank to conduct an extensive and rigorous tendering process.
The process involved several shortlisting stage-gates, a combination of written and in-person pitches, as well as a worked case study, challenging participants to think innovatively and tailor their responses to the bank's unique requirements. By encouraging suppliers to think outside the box, the tendering process resulted in several tailored and distinct proposals, focused on action rather than rhetoric.
Results and benefits
The legal function will now benefit from a first-of-its-kind panel for the client, enabling the client to access innovative legal services more easily than before. By broadening the range of suppliers and adopting a capabilities-based approach, the bank's legal function is now more adaptable and better equipped to achieve its core strategic objectives of efficiency and cost-effectiveness.
The comprehensive tendering process also yielded extensive positive feedback, with participants acknowledging the in-depth evaluation and the platform it provided for truly innovative suppliers to showcase their capabilities. Through this process, the bank was able to attract new, creative legal solutions that aligned seamlessly with its goals.
