Purchasing?

One of the fun parts of this job is that I sometimes get to visit ACC chapter meetings all over the place. Last week I was in Parsippany NJ. Ok, not the hottest of spots, but since I grew up in-house in a large law department not to far from there in Newark, it was sort of like going home.

The interesting part of the meeting was a presentation by an independent organization called the Law Department Purchasing Consortium. They are trying to establish a network of suppliers, such as outside counsel and document management companies, and law departments, that will work together to create operational efficiencies. The buzzword was something about "adding value." In my experience, this concept is something everyone talks about, but few pull off.

The presentation was fascinating. If this group delivers what they are promising, it has the potential to be truly useful. If nothing else, the technology (which is free for law departments, at least for the first year), makes it worth a close look. You can find out more at :

Law Department Purchasing Consortium