Williams Provides Insight on "Value of Collaboration"

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Partner Paul Williams has contributed a chapter on "The Synergistic Value of Collaboration" to The Bigger Picture: Driving Client Value Through Collaboration (Ark Group 2016), which "provides practical advice on how to encourage and break down the barriers to internal and external collaboration and teamwork, and how to reward desired behaviors." In particular, Williams discusses how a "mutually aligned partnership" between in-house and outside counsel can result in reduced legal spend and improved outcomes if both parties share perspectives, strategies and solutions, in addition to analyzing existing metrics about the client experience. 

"There are a lot of lawyers who can handle a client’s substantive legal assignment. Greater opportunity lies in what value you can add beyond the four corners of the current assignment," notes Williams. "Much like the previous opportunity, outside counsel should stop to consider how they can be of greater value, greater service to the client. Is there something you can do to make their job and their life better, easier, more efficient, and more valuable and rewarding?"