That is a waste of shareholder money. And, if properly instituted with reasonable concern for the interests of the law firm, lawyers are happy to accommodate you just to keep the balance of your business. Indeed, many law firms now market themselves to new clients by advertising their willingness to make these concessions, but they do not advertise them to clients naive enough to pay full rates. The 1990 recession caused belt-tightening among clients profound enough to lead to stricter scrutiny of legal expenses, previously exempted by many companies from standard budget and management controls. Developments in the management of lawyers and legal fees have grown up to meet these problems head on, making longer term solutions possible.
Legal services are a buyer's market, as never before.
For example, rather than promise all legal work to one firm or even all employment, corporate, or collections work to one firm, several firms might compete for the work, making presentations on their qualifications, plans, and budgets. Recognizing that the biggest firms are not necessarily the best, but are necessarily the most expensive, sophisticated clients have jettisoned their bias favoring larger firms. Many of the problems with legal fees and lawyers are caused by hourly billing, which emphasizes quantity of time spent over quality or efficiency. Properly designed, alternative billing methods save money and even reduce the burden of managing lawyers. Beware, however, of wolves in sheep's clothing.