Brightflag frames outside counsel management around right-sourcing, budgets and fee strategy

Brightflag defines outside counsel management as the processes and systems legal teams use to select, engage, manage and evaluate external providers for the right outcomes at the right cost. Its seven-part framework includes right-sourcing, vendor management, matter management, budgeting and forecasting, billing guidelines, fee arrangement strategy and performance evaluation. The framework shows where law-firm pricing is being judged: not just rate cards, but budgets, variance, comparable matter data, invoice compliance and performance evaluation. Firms that cannot participate in that operating model will struggle with sophisticated buyers.