Company touts live bidding process to reduce outside counsel spend

When an international pharmaceutical company invited law firms to revise their proposals in real time using an online RFP platform, the winning bid dropped by $1 million. According to PERSUIT’s Laura Spalding, the biggest savings occur at the start of a matter—during sourcing—not through traditional e-billing improvements. By introducing transparent, live bidding events for higher-value legal matters, general counsel can foster competition and quickly demonstrate ROI. Even limited pilot programs with a few trusted firms can yield measurable savings and organizational buy-in. One financial services company, for instance, saved nearly $1 million in its first test. The paper argues that this data-driven approach to managing outside counsel can transform how in-house teams source legal work, proving the value of smarter, more transparent procurement.