Introduction
Validatum® is the foremost architect of legal services pricing practice internationally. We are a specialist legal services pricing consultancy with operations based in London and New York but with a wide international reach, and regarded by many as the leading niche consultancy of its kind in the world. Our sole focus is legal services pricing; the most challenging and rapidly evolving aspect of the lawyer/client relationship.
Our Clients
Validatum® works solely with the 'sell' side of legal services. Over the last few years, we have had the opportunity to work with a wide range of law firms and barrister's chambers with turnovers of £10 million ($US15m) to £1.25b ($US1.9b). Our clients are regional, national, international, boutique, full-service, and in multiple jurisdictions including the United Kingdom, Europe, North America, Asia, Africa and Australasia. This diversity provides us with deep insight into what at any time constitutes legal services pricing best practice. Some of the clients with whom we have recently worked include...
Our Services
In a world of increasing specialisation, it is not possible to be the best unless you are focused. That's why legal pricing is Validatum's sole speciality. We have developed a suite of very targeted services to assist law firms and barristers chambers with every aspect of pricing governance, pricing analytics and pricing execution. Some of our most popular and in-demand services include...
Our Process
Firms usually make initial contact with Validatum® through their Managing Partner, Finance Director, COO or Head of Learning and Development.
Firms initially want to have a general discussion about what their needs are, where they perceive they are on the pricing sophistication journey, what objectives and outcomes they would like to achieve from working together and whether we have the capability to deliver those outcomes.
We provide an overview of our capabilities and resources. We also offer to put the firms' senior leadership in touch with their counterparts in other firms we have worked with to have a frank discussion about the other firms' experience of working with us. This provides valuable insight.
Some firms are beginning the pricing journey from 'ground-zero' and aren't sure where to begin, some have made good progress but momentum has stalled and others have had a number of false starts. We will recommend a series of formal and informal strategies to identify the firm's pricing pressure points and current status.
Because we offer a completely customised approach to addressing firms' pricing needs, there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Our diagnostic and needs analysis identifies the major pricing pressure points within the firm as well as opportunities for swift implementation and early quantifiable successes.
"Validatum® is without doubt the leading international legal services pricing consultancy."
Latest Articles and Events
Adapting to Change: The Dual Imperative of Power Tools and Pricing Innovation in Law Firms
The legal industry is undergoing a profound transformation driven by technology (which, for convenience I refer to in this article as ‘power tools’, because, well, who doesn’t like power tools!
As law firms increasingly adopt advanced tools aimed at enhancing efficiency and responsiveness, a paradoxical challenge emerges: the very technologies that improve performance also threaten to erode the economic foundation of many firms' business models. Specifically, the reliance on billable hours—a cornerstone of traditional law firm economics—is directly undermined by efficiency gains that reduce the time spent on tasks.
This tension demands urgent attention....
The Importance of Integrating Risk Profiles into Legal Pricing
Pricing strategies are not just about reflecting the time and effort required to deliver a service; they also need to account for the risk profile of the work being undertaken. This approach is both a practical necessity and a regulatory requirement in most Western legal jurisdictions.
Failing to incorporate a proper risk assessment into pricing can expose firms to financial, reputational, and professional risks and firms are entitled to be adequately compensated for that risk.
Let’s not forget that clients are buying, amongst other things, peace of mind. No different from insurance for which there is a premium payable.
Our bid failed: Maybe a bit of Latin can explain...
The post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy — assuming that if Event Y follows Event X, then Event X caused Event Y — often influences how firms interpret their failures to win contracts. For instance, if a firm submits a price and loses the job, they may assume that it was solely due to their price. However, this assumption can be misleading, and deeper analysis often reveals a more complex picture.
