56 LEXPERT MAGAZINE
|
APRIL 2016
IN-HOUSE ADVISOR
Data metrics – the science
of uncovering hidden patterns
from raw data – is increasingly
being used as a tool to evaluate
and choose outside counsel
BY JULIUS MELNITZER ILLUSTRATION BY EVA TATCHEVA
Data
Driven Decisions
HE WAY IN which in-house legal departments assess, select and evaluate external
counsel continues to bear remnants of the Stone Age, according to some observers.
"Most in-house departments don't think of using metrics or are too lazy to
try them and even when metrics are available many in-house department tend to
ignore them," says Lexpert columnist Richard Stock of Catalyst Consulting in
Toronto. "So the process of selecting external counsel turns out to be rudimen-
tary in 90 per cent of the cases. at doesn't mean that the counsel selected aren't good counsel,
but that the process for selecting them and structuring the arrangements is frequently not very
business-like."
But, like everything else in the profession, that's changing. It's becoming harder and hard-
er for legal departments and law firms to ignore the useful data that modern technology can
extract from the outputs that everyday operations provide. TD Bank Group, for example, has
found that data metrics – the science of uncovering hidden patterns from raw data – can play a
significant role in choosing panels of approved law firms.
"We discovered that we can leverage a great deal of internal data to help us with our deci-
sions," says Natasa Milojevic, Senior Manager, External Legal Services with TD in Toronto.
e difficulty lies in navigating the data. "e profession is still working at that," Milojevic
adds. "ere's tons of data but the problem is how to wield it, how to use it to make meaningful
T
