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Two leading costs and pricing consultancies merge

Validatum [1]

Two leading costs and pricing consultancies have merged to create Burcher Jennings [2]. The merger is a response to law firms’ urgent need for greater pricing skills across contentious and non-contentious work to improve profitability and cashflow in response to client demands for better value and the pressures brought about by the Jackson reforms.

Professor Dominic Regan, costs expert and special adviser to Lord Justice Jackson, has been appointed to the advisory board [3] of Burcher Jennings. He says, “This is just what judges want to see -­‐ some pricing maturity and discipline. I am keen and excited to be involved in these changes which strike me as just as important as the Jackson Reforms.”

Chairman of Burcher Jennings and leading international legal services pricing consultant, Richard Burcher [4] said: “Lawyers do not like talking about money and this compounds their lack of confidence in deciding how to price their services. Most lack the know-­‐how to offer pricing and payment choices and don’t have the negotiation skills to deal with aggressive procurement. Burcher Jennings overcomes these issues with on-­‐ site pricing training, pricing templates and guidelines, negotiation and pitch training, assistance on budgets and estimates, simplified client care documents and advice on pricing individual cases. We can guarantee firms will see an immediate improvement in their profitability and cashflow and fewer client complaints.’

The Burcher Jennings solution [2] brings to an end time and fee write-­‐offs, poor realisation rates, problems with cash flow, constantly reducing margins and time lost to dealing with cost complaints, challenges and assessments. Instead, firms can be confident their costs and pricing policy matches their potential as well as new costs budgeting and assessment requirements”.

Chief Executive, Martyn Jennings [5] says of the new venture, “Costs draftsmen have hitherto provided to law firms a mechanical function linked to the hourly rate at the end of a case. That has changed with the provision of budgets and estimates which are now required at the start of a case. The traditional offering is no longer sufficient -­‐ law firms need to have a complete suite of pricing and payment options. The coming together of our two companies will allow us to evolve with the developing market and offer services at the forefront of the sector.”

Professor Stephen Mayson [6], internationally acclaimed legal commentator and newly appointed member of the Burcher Jennings advisory board says, “Pricing for value is, to my mind, one of the most critical challenges for providers of legal services at the moment. The need to understand value -­‐ from a client’s perspective -­‐ and the ability to construct an appropriate pricing offer are now key attributes of a modern practitioner. Burcher Jennings brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to these crucial aspects of practice. In the interests of more effective and valuable legal services, I welcome their new venture, and am delighted to support it.”

Chris Marston [7], Head of Professional Practices, SME Banking, Lloyds Bank, says: “Law firms have struggled for many years to get their pricing right, and may also have missed opportunities to ensure all costs are captured. This collaboration between Richard Burcher and Jennings Cost Consultants is breathtakingly simple as a concept, but groundbreaking in terms of the value it can add to firms who want to safeguard profitability and cashflow.“