A component of the ACC Value Challenge—which promotes reconnecting the cost and value of legal services—the ACC Value Champions initiative recognizes collaborations that delivered substantial value to their client organizations by cutting spending, improving predictability and achieving better legal outcomes.
One judge said the collaboration showed "great legal management practices; clear roles and responsibilities achieved with assignment maps and work streams." The Express Scripts/Husch Blackwell team’s process started with a review of 16 years of cases to glean insights that then informed the manner in which future matters could be handled more efficiently. This included the development of process maps for litigation, assignment maps and workstreams, automated budget tracking, and an online collaboration portal, among other tools. Over four years as the number of litigation matters rose by 35 percent, the time spent per matter dropped by 39 percent, allowing the team to provide higher quality work under short deadlines.
“This revamped approach to litigation was truly a collaborative effort by our firm and Express Scripts that was designed as a close, candid look at how we could best deliver our services,” said Maurice Watson, Chairman of Husch Blackwell.
The Husch Blackwell team was comprised of Chris Smith, Sarah Hellmann and Angela Quinn of the firm’s Healthcare group.
Read more on the Husch Blackwell/Express Scripts collaboration: "Beginning Before the Beginning"