ARTICLES

The Howrey Way

By Julie Triedman
The American Lawyer
September 1, 2006

If any firm has made a science out of running a large document review, it's Howrey. The firm's nearly two-year-old litigation support center in Falls Church, Virginia, can accommodate up to 500 contract attorneys. Clients and temporary legal staffing executives praise the firm for the efficiency with which it plows through major document reviews while keeping close tabs on both its preferred staffing agencies and its temporary lawyers. Howrey's success stems from several clear-cut rules of engagement:

KEEP PARTNERS OUT OF THE BUSINESS OF HUMAN RESOURCES MANAGEMENT.

To increase profitability, Howrey has removed partners and associates from the nuts-and-bolts hiring and replaced them with managers experienced in both litigation support and supervision of paralegals. "After all, this is pretty far from work lawyers are trained for," says Denise Marshall, a former paralegal manager who oversees operations at the firm's Northern Virginia litigation support center.

KEEP THE PREFERRED LIST SHORT.

Initially, the firm used 15 different staffing agencies. But, flexing its considerable buying power to keep costs down and quality up, Howrey decided to limit its core relationship to a smaller number of preferred agencies: five agencies on the shortlist, plus a few for overflow.

Howrey cuts agencies that don't spend the time to screen the lawyers they place. "People will say they vetted these folks," says Deborah Thompson, who managed the firm's relationship with its agencies until she left her position as national director of legal support services in June. "And the temp will start talking, and you realize they haven't graduated from law school. Mistakes like that happen because agencies are so busy getting in the bodies."

DEMAND MORE FROM STAFFING AGENCIES.

Howrey uses its market power to make demands of its preferred providers that other firms can't or won't. In addition to licensing and reference checks, the firm requires criminal and financial background checks. "There's a feeling that if someone has a bad financial picture, it could cause problems down the road," explains Thompson.

PAY YOUR TEMPORARY LAWYERS EQUALLY-AND WELL.

To reduce temp turnover and unhappiness, the firm-alone among big Washington, D.C., firms, according to agency heads-demands that the same high rate (currently $35 an hour) be paid by all its agencies. "When one temp sitting there is making $32 an hour, and his neighbor is at $35, that can make for bad feelings," says Jodi Feinman, vice president of Legal Placements Inc., one of the agencies on Howrey's shortlist.

KEEP A LID ON HOURS.

While Howrey pays its workers at the top of the regional pay scale, in other areas it controls costs. The firm stopped a three-meals-a-day catering service after Marshall's tracking data revealed that temps showed a steep decline in productivity after working more than ten hours. "We used to be known as the firm that would feed them," says Marshall. "But not anymore." (The firm maintains a low-priced cafeteria, however.)

MAKE STAFF ATTORNEYS RESPONSIBLE FOR SUPERVISING WORK QUALITY.

At Howrey, once the temps are hired by litigation support managers, oversight of the work product-giving instructions, answering questions, and catching errors-is left to on-site staff attorneys, many of them former Howrey temps. Partners say the staff attorneys do a better job than associates in monitoring work product-and keeping an eye on temps. At first, however, partners and associates do play a larger role. And to be assured of catching potentially compromising documents, "a partner has to take a look at what's inside a few boxes, and not be so detached," says Howrey antitrust partner Charles "Tim" Engel III.

SPEND TIME ON ORIENTATION.

Before contract attorneys get practical training by Howrey attorneys on coding and reviewing documents, Marshall's staff explains what level of productivity and professionalism is expected. Contract attorneys are given a lengthy binder with guidelines for everything from confidentiality to cell phone usage to appropriate dress.

CHART INDIVIDUAL LAWYERS' PRODUCTIVITY.

At Howrey, document reviewers sign out digital documents in large notebooks beside each work area, allowing business managers to track page-count performance and cut underproductive workers. The average contract attorney is expected to review 600 pages per hour.

Temps who have worked at Howrey praise the firm for providing clarity, but say the obsession with page count can be trying. Some resent the level of control. "It's like they think, 'They're going to take crayons and write on the wall if we don't watch them,' or something," says a former Howrey temp, who asked not to be named.

Lack of Internet access at the center is another major gripe. "Being out there isolated like that and without Internet access, [Howrey management] can better justify to the client that they're getting their money's worth," says one temporary attorney who has worked at Howrey. But, this lawyer adds, "there you are working 60-80 hours a week, and you're unable to look for a job."

"We have to restrict access to Outlook," responds Marshall, "or we'd never meet productivity goals."