As clients look to drive down pricing, exert influence over team composition and evaluate potential new legal counsel, law firms have to ask themselves if the juice is worth the squeeze when it comes to many RFPs. The reality is that RFPs are now a constant presence in the marketing and business development process. But just because something is prevalent doesn’t mean it’s always in the best interests of the firm.
Mary K. Young notes that the prevalence of RFPs in recent years has increased, and not always with good effect. Department resources are finite. Firms should be very selective even if they are not using marketing resources. Knowing which RFPs are worth engaging on and which ones should be met with a hard pass isn’t always easy.
And while RFPs are a necessary evil for law firms, Kent Zimmerman notes that many firms also have room for improvement to set priorities on which ones they invest the firm’s resources in answering based on which are more likely to lead to work that uses the firm for its strengths and commands its rate.