Matter-type benchmarking becomes the better procurement language

Swiftwater argues that most legal departments use outside counsel benchmarks incorrectly by comparing total spend rather than matter-type-specific spend. The article cites ACC benchmark figures such as 0.50 percent average total legal spend as a percentage of revenue, median outside counsel spend of $1.8 million and top-quartile outside counsel spend above $11.2 million, but says these figures are directional rather than dispositive. The lesson for firms is that procurement pressure is becoming more granular: clients want pricing and staffing comparisons by litigation, M&A, employment, IP and commercial contracts, adjusted for complexity.