The Association of Corporate Counsel Recognizes Shook and Compass Group for Litigation Strategy

For the fifth time in nine years, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) has recognized Shook for its exemplary collaboration with a client. This year, ACC named Compass Group and Shook as the 2021 “Value Champion” for litigation strategy, resolving the client’s increasing number of general liability lawsuits. Using its Coefficient Litigation Management^TM strategy, Shook transformed the client’s litigation matters, handled by 65 firms, to a single portfolio. Together, Compass Group and Shook reduced claims and lawsuits by more than 50 percent, thereby reducing legal spend.

“Compared to non-litigated claims, litigated claims were 80 to 85 percent of our financial exposure,” explains General Counsel Jennifer McConnell. “We didn’t have lawyers who appreciated litigation strategy and cycle times managing the work internally, and the situation was getting unwieldy as our docket continued to grow. Working with 65 law firms and more than a hundred lawyers, there was no opportunity for consistency. We needed to get control of these litigated claims.”

McConnell said upon conducting research they discovered the ACC had recognized Shook for litigation strategy in 2012. They had three goals in mind: reducing the number of claims, reducing the number of claims that move forward to litigation, and reduce the all-in spend associated with managing the litigation docket.

“The biggest difference was, we approached the portfolio opportunity knowing that the transition process is very challenging. We knew that we were going to be taking over cases in different phases and different jurisdictions. We had learned from the Tyco experience that initially being over prepared and overstaffed would help us take on this monumental task of managing more than 300 cases in various stages of workup,” said Shook Partner Charles Eblen, who handles the Compass Group relationship.

In its selection, ACC noted that it “Loved having a fresh example of how impactful it is to work systematically on preventing litigation. Appreciate the integrated approach, which included the client’s risk management team.”

Shook, along with other winners, will be recognized at the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) Virtual Annual Meeting October 21-22.