In-House Counsel - Spring 2010

is often flat rate or hourly at about $130 per hour. We also offer the ability to fix price projects or for regular on-going clients to provide work for a flat rate monthly fee with some sort of upward limit time cap.

“If you’re practising in-house counsel properly there’s ample room to demonstrate that you are actually not only saving costs and avoiding risks but adding demonstrative value to the business,” said Milstone, who also recently celebrated the fifth anniversary of his firm. “One of the things that we pride ourselves in being able to do is to make general counsel in a large company look better and allow them to make a better argument for themselves in terms of their existence.” The corporate market is evidently paying attention. Brushing aside a frail economy, the so-called “virtual law firms” are thriving across North America and Europe. In the U.S., the innovative alternative has spawned the likes of Axiom Law, which is now rapidly gaining market share, serving over half of the companies in the Fortune 100. Like Delegatus and Cognition, its 280 attorneys nearly all work on-site with clients or from home offices. Even traditional law firms are giving a nod to the different business model. In Great Britain, traditional law firm Berwin Leighton Paisner launched Lawyers on Demand, a virtual law firm that bills itself as an alternative resourcing solution for in-house legal teams.

Closer to home, Delegatus has, over the past year, doubled its team, from eight to 16, and broadened its fields of practice to meet growing demand for its services. “We were receiving mandates from companies that we could not fulfill,” said Fontaine, who added that she doubts that the firm will expand by much more.

Cognition, which already has a presence in Ottawa and Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont., has more ambitious plans. Having closed in on the 20-lawyer mark and added two business development experts as well as a full-time marketing and project manager, it is now setting its sights on Calgary and beyond, while trying to take even greater advantage of the opportunities that lie at its doorstep in Toronto. “Reaching the 20 lawyer benchmark was important for us in order to get the critical mass of being able to serve all different kinds of different industries and markets,” said Milstone. “We want to be

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