Swiftwater & Company: Law Firm Convergence — Chorus Insight Research Finds Average Formal Panel Has 8 Firms (Range: 2–69)

Swiftwater & Company published (August 2) a detailed guide to law firm convergence, drawing on Chorus Insight research across 121 organisations. The average formal panel includes 8 firms, with a range of 2 to 69 — confirming that panel size is highly variable by organisation. The guide sets out the convergence sequence: baseline the current state, set criteria (geographic coverage, practice-area depth, conflict exposure, rate competitiveness, technology capability, past performance), communicate, transition, and govern. The governance mechanism is semiannual panel reviews examining spend concentration, off-panel leakage, matter outcomes, and firm performance. The guide explicitly states: firms that underperform should be put on notice or removed; firms that consistently exceed expectations should be rewarded with a larger share of work. Technology capability is listed as a formal selection criterion alongside geographic coverage, rate competitiveness, and past performance. For law firm BD directors managing panel relationships: the inclusion of technology capability as an explicit panel selection criterion in a 2026 convergence framework is the commercial signal that technology disclosure and demonstrated AI proficiency are now panel-retention requirements, not differentiators. The rate improvements from panel consolidation typically appear in the first billing cycle; the larger savings from reduced overhead, better staffing, and stronger relationship leverage take 12–18 months.