Source: PR Newswire
One year ago today, Axiom launched Axiom Advice & Counsel (AA&C), a modern law firm that leverages Axiom’s highly qualified, on-demand attorneys across 12 practice areas—all at a fraction of the rates charged by national law firms. The creation of AA&C, an Arizona law firm, extends Axiom’s 23-year history of legal services innovation, creating a new type of firm that can work with Axiom’s thousands of lawyers—many of whom are Am Law 100 alumni—and all who are unencumbered by billable hours requirements and the traditional partner pyramid.
AA&C has seen steady momentum during the past 12 months, hiring four partners and four additional team members. The firm has been engaged by clients of all types—from Fortune 50 enterprises to growing startups, for a wide range of use cases and matters ranging from interim general counsel services to privacy, litigation, M&A, and more. AA&C is a prime example of the impact Arizona’s pioneering Supreme Court decision1 is having on enabling alternative business structured (ABS) law firms.
“Axiom offers exactly the new paradigm the industry needs,” said James Turoff, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary of The Hershey Company. “We greatly value the relationships we have with our traditional outside counsel, and they will always play a key role in our legal strategy, but Axiom’s innovative model—focused on value and flexible service delivery—is ideal for our everyday legal needs. With Axiom’s addition of AA&C to its portfolio, there’s now a single vendor who can provide the full spectrum of services that in-house legal departments need today: partner-level expertise at favorable rates, plus access to an ecosystem of thousands of vetted legal professionals.”
Axiom now provides the industry with the broadest range of high-quality legal talent across a spectrum of In-House Solutions and Law Firm Services, all of which help companies better manage their risk and the variability of work requirements to increase capacity and optimise their budgets:
In-House Solutions, Delivered by Axiom
- Top-quality talent drawn from Axiom’s global network of legal professionals with in-house and Am Law 200 experience. Only 3% (3 out of 100) of attorneys who apply are accepted through Axiom’s rigorous vetting process.
- Secondments to fill strategic, temporary talent needs, with talent available on full or part-time basis.
- Specialized advice from experienced, world-class lawyers who average 18 years of post-qualified experience (PQE). Clients can send work as needed and get on-demand availability of legal talent.
- Large projects that require teams of lawyers and coordination by an experienced leader.
Law Firm Services, Delivered by Axiom Advice & Counsel
- A law firm built to fit today’s in-house budgets, with rates 25% lower than national law firms, extending Axiom’s decades-long focus on unbeatable client value.
- Partner relationships with oversight and accountability.
- Managed teams providing quality outcomes, delivery management, and enhanced reporting.
- Scalability and affordability working with Axiom’s network of experienced lawyers, including many in-house counsel and Am Law 100 alumni.
- Fractional or full-time General Counsel services.
- Support across 12 practice areas, including litigation.
With more than 1,500 clients across North America, Europe, and Asia, Axiom today serves over 60% of the Fortune 100 with 95% client satisfaction. In fact, 90% of clients surveyed say Axiom lawyers are as good or better than their law firm lawyers.
“Our accelerating momentum is driven by our clients’ need for a new, value-based delivery model from their law firms and legal service providers,” said Catherine Kemnitz, Chief Strategy and Development Officer at Axiom. “It’s clear that clients are in pain. Big law rates keep going up, in-house budgets keep going down. Companies recognize that the old model, which focused on profits per partner supported by ever-increasing rates, is out of step with today’s business realities. Our clients need an agile legal services partner who can help them manage their risk and legal matters in a far more cost-effective way, and that’s exactly what we’ve built Axiom to do.”
Indeed, despite relatively flat demand, Big Law continues to drive sharp hikes in billing rates, according to analysts at Wells Fargo’s Legal Specialty Group. Law firm rates rose, on average, by 7.9% by the third quarter of 2023, the highest percentage rate uptick since the Great Recession 15 years ago.2 Meanwhile, workloads and regulatory complexity for enterprise, mid-sized, and small business in-house legal teams continued to rise while budgets shrank. Legal departments are under immense pressure to do more with less, with 70% reporting higher matter volumes, and 66% reporting their budgets are flat or declining.3
“You no longer have to do more with less,” said Kimberly Burke, General Counsel of Cerapedics Inc. “Companies today need to do more for less, and Axiom is heeding that call. They’ve become a true extension of our in-house team. They offer outstanding, experienced in-house attorneys who are skilled in the practice areas we need and able to speak the language of our business, and they’re far more cost-effective than the traditional big law firm. With their help, we’ve been able to undertake a large volume of strategic projects while meeting our budget goals this year.”
Today’s Axiom provides a simple, technology-enabled, AI-enhanced process to help companies of all sizes—with or without in-house counsel—quickly find the most efficient and effective way to meet their immediate or long-term legal needs.
“Axiom is uniquely positioned to help legal organizations thrive,” said David McVeigh, CEO of Axiom. “Our north star has always been to drive disruptive innovation, improve access to quality counsel, and spur value realization in law. Today, with the largest and most comprehensive portfolio of solutions and services in the market, we’re doing just that. We’re giving business and legal leaders a full array of in-house solutions and the industry’s first and only on-demand law firm that puts their business and budget first. We’ll continue to invest in the technologies, solutions and services, and quality talent that our clients need, as the industry continues to evolve.”
