A VALUE PROPOSITION
MORGAN STANLEY IS THE TYPE OF CLIENT THAT HOLDS SWAY WITH
law firms, so the global investment bank and financial services
giant felt comfortable making a bold request of its service
providers last year.
In keeping with the growing popularity of secondments in
certain portions of the in-house community, the bank, which
has been ramping up its own requests for secondees, went all-in, launching a formal secondee program. In doing so, it asked
its outside law firms to send over one or two lawyers apiece
for six months—at no cost to Morgan Stanley.
Every firm on the bank’s preferred providers list agreed
to the deal.
It’s a testament to the gradual spread of secondment
arrangements across the legal services spectrum—and the
value they can deliver for both sides—that Morgan Stanley’s request was well received. In this era of increasing client
power, in-house counsel and the law firms they work with are
breathing new life into the concept.
BY PATRICK SMITH
AND PHILLIP BANTZ
SECONDMENTS CAN BENEFIT
LAW FIRMS, BUT OFTEN AT
GREAT COST. AS CLIENTS RAMP
UP THEIR REQUESTS, HOW ARE
FIRMS APPROACHING THEIR
ARRANGEMENTS?
