Applying Value Principles to the Challenges of M&A

SEATTLE, Wash. (May 29, 2014) – Perkins Coie is pleased to announce that the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) named the firm and client Microsoft 2014 ACC Value Champions for applying value principles to Microsoft’s mergers and acquisitions (M&A) legal work — improving budget forecasting accuracy by 30 percentage points and increasing diversity within the law firm teams that staff projects.

A component of the ACC Value Challenge, which promotes reconnecting the cost and value of legal services, the ACC Value Champions initiative recognized Perkins Coie and Microsoft as one of 11 corporate legal departments, along with five law firms and legal service providers, that delivered substantial value to their client organizations by cutting spending, improving predictability, and achieving better legal outcomes.

“This year, we are especially pleased to see companies, like Microsoft, bringing innovation to areas of law that typically require immense outside counsel support and large budgets,” said Veta T. Richardson, president and CEO of ACC.  “Across the challenging areas of high-volume litigation, mergers and acquisitions work and even compliance, the 2014 ACC Value Champions have realized huge time and cost savings for their companies.”

Microsoft’s program, “Deal 360: Taking Aim @ Microsoft’s M&A Deals,” helped the company achieve better budget forecasting in what is traditionally one of the most unruly areas of legal work.  Microsoft had successfully applied value principles to many other areas of its law department and now sought to do the same in a new context — improving deal predictability, enhancing process efficiency, and ensuring clear communications — for M&A.

“Initially, we suggested starting with a matrix to analyze the complexity of each deal, comparing data across 26 characteristics to determine budget and staffing plans,” said Stewart Landefeld, chair of Perkins Coie’s Business Practice.  “We also work very hard to ensure diversity in our staffing by embracing Microsoft’s pay-for-performance initiative.”

“We build close relationships with our law firm partners that allow us to identify innovative budgeting and reporting processes.  We’ve found this approach leads to quick decision making, high-quality outcomes and cost savings for the company,” said Keith Dolliver, associate general counsel for Microsoft.

After setting the initial workplans, Microsoft allows for flexibility with semi-weekly check-ins to discuss pending M&A items and to make adjustments to the budget and staffing, sometimes trimming the scope of activity to keep costs in line with budgets.  Information shared during meetings has spurred the legal team to establish standard-operating-procedures-and-protocols checklists to help guide future deals.

With “Deal 360,” Perkins Coie, which handles approximately 50 to 80 percent of Microsoft’s M&A deals each year, was able to come between 17 and 40 percent under budget in 2013. 

ACC received 83 nominations from law departments and law firms from December 2013 through February 2014. The complete list of the 2014 ACC Value Champions can be viewed online at: www.acc.com/valuechampions.

About ACC: The Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC) is a global bar association that promotes the common professional and business interests of in-house counsel who work for corporations, associations and other private-sector organizations through information, education, networking opportunities and advocacy initiatives. With more than 33,000 members employed by over 10,000 organizations, ACC connects its members to the people and resources necessary for both personal and professional growth. By in-house counsel, for in-house counsel.® For more information, visit www.acc.com and follow ACC on Twitter.

Perkins Coie is a leading international law firm that is known for providing high-value, strategic solutions and extraordinary client service on matters vital to our clients’ success. With more than 1,200 lawyers in offices across the United States and Asia, we provide a full array of corporate, commercial litigation, intellectual property, and regulatory legal advice to a broad range of clients, including many of the world’s most innovative companies and industry leaders as well as public and not-for-profit organizations.

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