Legal Pricing Experts Launch International Academy The Legal Pricing Academy professionalizes the law firm pricing function
International legal pricing experts Validatum® and the international trade organization for legal procurement, Buying Legal Council®, have announced a ‘game-changing collaboration’ with the launch of the New York and London headquartered Legal Pricing Academy. Responding to rapid growth in demand from law firms for senior professionals with demonstrated pricing knowledge, experience, and expertise, the Legal Pricing Academy offers three tiers of Legal Pricing qualification: Certified Legal Pricing Associate, Certified Legal Pricing Specialist, and Certified Legal Pricing Professional. The professional development pathways will provide pricing, business development, finance and other professionals in law firms who are required to take a pricing leadership role in their firms, with frameworks for pricing innovation, pricing governance, academic and practical knowledge and skills, increased recognition of the importance and status of legal pricing professionals, and competitive employment advantage.
Richard Burcher, co-founder of the Legal Pricing Academy said: “Over the last 10 years, the importance of pricing sophistication has become increasingly apparent to most law firms. What those firms have discovered however is that there is a dearth of relevantly qualified, skilled and experienced people that also have a sound working knowledge of the unique characteristics of the legal sector. Along with our advisory board comprising some of the most experienced and knowledgeable legal pricing professionals in the world, we are the only organization that is well placed to credibly address that skills gap”. Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein, co-founder of the Legal Pricing Academy said: “A collaboration between two leading international organizations that are on opposite sides of the pricing conversation may not seem obvious. But it is a very welcome opportunity to help mold the narrative around an aspect of the relationship that doesn’t need to be characterized as a zero-sum game. For there to be constructive engagement between law firms and their clients around this challenging aspect of the relationship, there needs to be a better understanding by both parties of each other's world. I am thrilled that the Buying Legal Council and Validatum® are working together to advance the quality of the conversation.”
There are multiple constituencies within law firms that have an interest in pricing including partners in practice group leadership roles, finance, business development, marketing, learning and development, and related professionals. Gareth Guyers, Regional Billing Manager at Milbank’s Singapore office, and an early student of the introductory Certified Legal Pricing Associate topics, who is ambitious about developing his law firm pricing career, recently commented: “This course has elevated my learning and career and I highly recommend this to anyone! Richard was able to deliver his years of knowledge and experience in the legal profession in a fashion that was thorough but not overwhelming to someone like me who is just starting out in the legal pricing world. The content was clear and concise and demonstrates a holistic feel to the world of both pricing and procurement which helps the student to connect the dots and understand legal pricing in a much broader context. I recommend this course to anyone whether they are starting out in pricing and want to expedite their learning or if you want to feel reenergized about the ever-evolving world of legal pricing/ procurement.” The Legal Pricing Academy three-tiered qualification framework enables law firm professionals to pursue their pricing development on their own time, at their own pace and to a level that they determine, whether that is simply a ‘light touch’ introduction to some of the key concepts or whether they aspire to the pinnacle of Certified Level Pricing Professional, leading the pricing function in a large international law firm. For more information, please visit www.legalpricingacademy.com Contact: Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein, CEO Buying Legal Council® silvia@buyinglegal.com
About all involved
• Validatum® is the world’s leading legal services pricing consultancy. Based in London and New York and with a wide international reach, Validatum’s sole focus is legal services pricing and has worked with more than 300 law firms in 22 countries. • Validatum® is led by Founder and Managing Director, Richard Burcher. He is a former practicing lawyer and managing partner, with 30 years’ in private legal practice including managing partner and extensive postgraduate study in pricing professional services. Richard is a Teaching Fellow (Pricing) on the faculty of the Australian College of Law, Master of Legal Business (MLB) qualification and a Fellow-Elect of the US College of Law Practice Management. • The Buying Legal Council® is the international trade organization for professionals tasked with sourcing legal services and managing supplier relationships. Members work on the client side and are tasked with sourcing legal services and managing supplier relationships. • The Buying Legal Council® is led by founder and CEO, Dr. Silvia Hodges Silverstein, known for her research, teaching and speaking on purchasing decisions and change in the legal industry. Silvia is the editor of the Legal Procurement Handbook and has authored Harvard Business School case studies on legal procurement and new model law firms. She is a lecturer at Columbia Law School in New York where she teaches law firm management.
• The Legal Pricing Academy is supported through its international advisory board comprising some of the most senior pricing professionals in the world; Adrian Avanzato, Head of Pricing, Pinsent Masons (London), Keith Maziarek, Senior Director of Client Value, Katten Muchin Rosenman (Chicago), Pier d’Angelo, Chief Pricing & Practice Officer, Allens Linklaters (Sydney, Australia), Purvi Sanghvi, Director of Strategic Pricing, Paul Hastings (New York) and Ian Gilbert, Director of Legal Operations, Herbert Smith Freehills (London)