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WHAT WE’RE WATCHING

UNHELPFUL GUIDES - It’s an impossible choice, but if I was forced to pick just one Avril Lavigne lyric about outside counsel guidelines that perfectly encapsulates the challenges of the law firm-client relationship, it would have to be: “Why’d you have to go and make things so complicated?” OCGs are becoming increasingly prevalent. They’re also becoming increasingly varied, complex and (some might say) convoluted, leading many law firms to either waste time trying to reconcile them or to just ignore them altogether. Needless to say, neither of those scenarios is ideal for a healthy law firm-client relationship. In this week’s Law.com Trendspotter, we look at why firms are struggling to keep up and comply with clients’ guidelines and what both sides can do to improve the situation. Before we dive in, I’m interested to hear from you: Do you feel that clients’ OCGs have gotten out of control or are law firms failing to do their part to understand and ensure compliance with them? If you do view OCG compliance as a problem, what can both sides do to help solve it? Let me know at [email protected].