Peer to Peer

June 2009

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the quarterly magazine of ILTA 21 Peer to Peer Count % Yes 18 53% No 11 32% No, but it is under consideration. 5 15% Average 6.45% Median 5.00% High 20.00% © 2009 Meltzer Consulting curt Meltzer, of Meltzer consulting, has been in the legal technology industry for more than 25 years. he has been the cio at an amlaw 100 firm, as well as two other large law firms. he has also worked with several vendors, including those in the research, training, litigation support and management consulting businesses. curt is a member of the bar of the District of columbia. he can be reached at cmeltzer@gmail.com. hold down its debt levels, it may choose to lease, rather than purchase, new technology. Thus, it will increase operating expense while reducing capital. There are many approaches to deciding how to reduce IT expenses. One firm might ask their top 25 vendors for discounts, while another may request discounts from those vendors whose costs exceed a fixed dollar amount. Others might examine reducing all their costs. Of those firms surveyed, 81% are cutting their telecommunications costs, and 74% are doing the same with software maintenance. Approximately 55% of respondents are looking to reduce both their research and consulting services costs, while 32% are cutting both programming and litigation support expenses. Other areas under review include hardware, business continuity and facilities management. Managing IT staff-related expenditures is also a priority. Of survey respondents, 97% are limiting conference attendance, while 93% are restricting travel. This indicates that firms should increase use of video and audio conferencing for meetings and take advantage of local training opportunities when possible. Staff bonuses are being reduced or eliminated by 53% of the firms who responded, while 50% are cutting training costs and 43% are freezing salaries. In addition, 53% of responding firms are extending the life of their hardware, such as workstations and laptops. IT service levels are critical to supporting excellent client service, yet 30% of respondents are reducing service levels to help cut costs. Other cost-cutting measures include delaying or eliminating projects, reducing reimbursement for personal technology such as wireless devices, looking for cross-departmental staffing opportunities and trying to wring greater value from existing IT investments. Firms should examine software maintenance agreements to ensure that they are taking advantage of all the available benefits. POSITIONING FOR THE FUTURE Each firm must make difficult cost-cutting decisions to help sustain business through this recession. It is important to understand industry trends and weigh the options based on each firm's unique perspective. At the same time, it is critical to position the firm for the inevitable economic turnaround. A prolonged lack of investment in IT may place a firm at a competitive disadvantage. ILTA 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 Technology allowance/BlackBerry reimbursement modifications Service level reductions Salary freeze Training reduction Bonus reduction/elimination Workstation/hardware refresh cycle extensions Travel restrictions Conference attendance limitations (8) (9) (13) (15) (16) (16) (28) (29) © 2009 Meltzer Consulting Report to CIO % of respondents Layoffs in past 12 months % of those with layoffs Computer Ops/Network Infrastructure 33 97% 8 44% Database Administration 33 97% 2 11% Departmental Administration 30 88% 5 28% Development/Programming 33 97% 9 50% Help Desk 33 97% 9 50% PC/laptop/printer Maintenance 33 97% 8 44% Project Management 32 94% 4 22% Security 31 91% 1 6% Telecommunications/Networking 33 97% 6 33% Training 30 88% 8 44% Web services 33 97% 1 6% Knowledge Management 19 56% 2 11% Library 12 35% 4 22% Practice Mgmt/Litigation Support 24 71% 5 28% Records/Conflicts 11 32% 5 28% © 2009 Meltzer Consulting

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