VIACOM INTERVIEW
On January 11, 2011, InsideCounsel Magazine Custom Media Editor, Scott Gawlicki, interviewed An Trotter, Viacom’s Director of Legal Administration. The conversation focused on the entertainment giant’s advanced legal information governance system that unifies diverse subsidiaries, cultures, and data tracking needs for full visibility into operations.
Complete Information Governance & Reporting to Manage Diverse Cultures and Data Tracking Needs
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
The business benefits provided by Mitratech TeamConnect, a fully integrated e-billing and matter management system are many. They range from more efficient budgeting and spend management, to greatly improved data security and client care. Team Connect is especially beneficial to a corporate legal department that serves not only multiple subsidiaries, but subsidiaries with different products, cultures and legal requirements. A legal department, like the one found at global entertainment giant Viacom. My name is Scott Gawlicki and I’m a custom media editor with Inside Counsel magazine and today I’m speaking with An Trotter, Viacom’s Director of Legal Administration. Thanks for joining us.
AN TROTTER:
I’m happy to be here.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
With clients like MTV, Paramount and BET, it would be tough to find a legal department with more diverse data tracking needs. Is that why you chose TeamConnect?
AN TROTTER:
Yes. Diverse data tracking was one of several key issues. It’s important to understand that Viacom is one of only three or four truly global entertainment companies. Each of our divisions has unique products, cultures and ways of operating and our attorneys are embedded within those businesses.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
So, an out of the box solution was obviously not in the cards.
AN TROTTER:
No, it wouldn’t have worked. We’re not a one culture company with common data tracking requirements like an insurance company is, for example. We needed a flexible system that we could customize for each client. Plus, we have 225 attorneys in our department and need to function as a single, integrated legal organization. The TeamConnect Enterprise platform lets us do that.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
How did you begin your search?
AN TROTTER:
Our initial goal was to replace our outdated e-billing system with a combined e-billing and matter management system. We wanted an e-billing system that gave us new functionality, including automated rate and billing rule enforcement, business process rules and real-time reporting, along with all the matter management functionality. We didn’t have any of that before. With our prior system we could only route .PDF documents. Issues had to be explained in a single note of limited sized. In addition, the routing was not transparent and one couldn’t run reports on all the data that was in the system. The reports we could create were complex and accessible only to a few experts. I could go on but it’s probably a familiar story.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
The e-billing savings alone were pretty substantial, correct?
AN TROTTER:
Yes. The savings were huge. We process over 10,000 invoices a year. By automatically reviewing invoices, flagging violations and correcting pre-negotiated charges, the system paid for itself in less than 12 months.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Were there other savings as well?
AN TROTTER:
Yes, for example, we have a billing staff of three full-time and two long-term temp positions. Prior to implementing TeamConnect, the group did nothing but manually review invoices and respond to law firm inquiries about invoice status. When reviewing invoices, the billing staff would have to spot check the rates for each timekeeper against the manually maintained Excel spreadsheet. In addition, they often had to go back and check the law firm billing guidelines, which is a 40-page document. The billing staff would highlight any potential issues and then route the invoice to the inside attorney for review. Now the system performs these functions. It reviews the invoices, catches any potential issues and automatically distributes the invoices to our legal billing specialist and attorneys with notation specific to each of their respective roles. And perhaps most importantly, law firms can access the current status of their invoices through TeamConnect and also receive system-generated emails on final invoice approval detailing any adjustments that were made and why. So all of that to say, we’re in process of bringing 25 legal offices outside the U.S. on to TeamConnect. Without the added efficiency TeamConnect provides, we would’ve had to add staff to handle the additional volume of invoices and firm on-boarding. With the streamlining, we were able to increase workload and to keep staffing levels the same. Once we complete the international rollout, we anticipate we’ll be able to manage the process without temporary staff and that will be an enormous savings.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
How many law firms do you work with?
AN TROTTER:
About 250. A large number of those are IP firms. About 20 firms represent 80 percent of our overall spend. All together we track almost 10,000 timekeepers in TeamConnect, either as individuals or on task code basis. As you can imagine, reviewing the invoices manually was expensive, time-consuming and error-prone.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
So, TeamConnect makes the review easier for your attorneys, too.
AN TROTTER:
Absolutely. We programmed the system to red flag certain potential issues and let the legal billing specialist, for administrative items, and the attorney, for substantive legal service items, decide whether or not to act on it. In the past, the legal billing staff and attorneys had to closely scan each and every line item, the rates, and the discounts. Because the billing guideline citation is included in the flag, the staff member can make a quick judgment call. In other cases where the violation is clear cut, the system automatically adjusts the invoice, but a staff member always has the option to override an auto adjustment as needed. For example, we have an annual deadline for law firms to submit new rate proposals. In the past, an attorney might get a call from a firm saying we’re applying the wrong rate card. Now the attorney can check the system themselves, look at the notes about specially negotiated arrangements and respond to the inquiry. It was difficult to do that before and the attorney certainly couldn’t do it by themselves.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Another big requirement involved creating financial reports and creating them in real time. How is that going?
AN TROTTER:
That was an early success. In addition to our corporate GC, each division…MTV, Paramount and BET has its own GC. My department used to run a set of financial data reports on a monthly basis for each GC. In addition, a GC might request an ad hoc report on how much they spent on litigation up to a certain date for example, or what we spent with one firm versus another. Prior to implementing TeamConnect, we had been manually formatting the data in Excel documents, which is pretty time-consuming and emailing the reports to the GC’s.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
And now the GC can access that data on their own?
AN TROTTER:
Exactly. The system automatically generates and sends snapshot reports to the division GC’s and key finance staff at the end of every month. In addition, the GC’s have dashboards and access one-click reports for their division in real-time and not only the GC’s, but everyone on the system can run reports for the matters to which they are assigned. This empowers our front line attorneys to more actively manage their matters. System users can view their spend by matter, firm, vendor, attorney or practice area, or they can examine how much has been spent to date against how much has been budgeted for the year. They can view their financials from any micro or macro vantage point as well as other factors such as staffing and in real time, which means they always have access to the latest data. And of course, our corporate GC can access the total spend for all divisions also in real-time.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
I imagine all of this is pretty helpful at quarterly report time?
AN TROTTER:
Yes. As a publicly traded company, Legal has to submit quarterly budget projections. The finance staff can now run real-time reports to update their budget forecast.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Your finance people have access to the system as well?
AN TROTTER:
Yes. Each division’s key finance people can access the system and run reports themselves. Using the reports menu we created for them, and a custom search function, they can drill down any path they want in real time. TeamConnect allows us to define security levels for each user role. So anyone in the department can run reports pertinent to their role without concerns that they might access privileged or confidential data not appropriate to their function. And with everyone working from the same system, we standardized the reporting output. Previously, everyone would cut and paste data and create reports in their own way and we spent an enormous amount of time reconciling differences resulting from different cuts on the data. Now everyone views exactly the same report. We’re on the same page literally.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Is TeamConnect integrated with Viacom’s other information system?
AN TROTTER:
We’re starting to do that. We see TeamConnect as serving as the legal department’s information platform. Right now, we can access Viacom’s document management system through the TeamConnect window. The system is also integrated with our accounts payable and CRM systems.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Have you implemented any other reporting processes?
AN TROTTER:
We’ve created a law firm evaluation database which is very popular. Using the search function, our attorneys can see how their peers feel about a firm, or even a certain lawyer. We’re also in process of automating our conflict-checking reports. We’re a global entertainment company. If we decide we want to work with a certain law firm we have to be sure they’re not taking opposing positions in some other areas of the business.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Can you give me an example of that?
AN TROTTER:
Of course. A firm can’t be suing BET somewhere while also doing work for Paramount. Or they can’t be supporting us on a corporate matter while also supporting a piracy group stealing content. We used to keep all that data in an Excel file. Once we migrated to TeamConnect, the data will be kept up-to-date as part of the routine matter setup and maintenance process. We’re also moving our insurance database to TeamConnect, so that we’re able to quickly check on what matters are covered by what insurance policy, including the coverage, deductible and insurance payout versus what we have to pay.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
As I understand it, the ability to customize the data field was also a key requirement?
AN TROTTER:
That was extremely important. We wanted to be able to customize the fields for a variety of work groups and do it on our own, without the vendors help.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Why was that so important?
AN TROTTER:
The fields for the M & A group are different from the Litigation group or the Compliance group. The IP requirements at MTV are different from the IP requirements at Paramount. We have different types of IP and different ways to protect it at each division- and different groups have different management processes. The ability to customize the data fields for each of our client groups was huge.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
How about training? Does having such a diverse client base make that a challenge?
AN TROTTER:
Yes, and again the system helps us to customize the training for each group. For example, MTV’s culture is well-known for rebellion against the status quo, creativity, doing it your own way. If you tell that group that training is required, most won’t show up. Some did come to the formal training, but others chose the on-demand training module. If someone wants to do 10 minutes of online training in the morning, either in the office or at home, then come back and do another 20 minutes in the afternoon they can. We also instituted walk arounds. Members of our legal technology team stop by and ask, “How is it going? Any pain points we can help you with?” That often leads to demonstrating an easier way to do something and then that person passes it along to others. It’s made a tremendous difference in how quickly the system was accepted. When we roll out TeamConnect in London and Latin America at the end of the month, we’re going to send teams to do it there, too.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
Last question. Have there been any surprises? Anything about the system that you didn’t expect?
AN TROTTER:
One of the most surprising things to me is that a lot of people who are initially opposed to doing this, and by this I mean the really vocal critics who felt it was being imposed on them, are now among the most supportive. They like the system because it’s added transparency and allowed them to be self-reliant.
SCOTT GAWLICKI:
An, thanks for filling us in about this. We hope our audience found this conversation interesting and useful. To learn more, visit www.mitratech.com. This is Scott Gawlicki signing off for Inside Counsel Custom Media and Mitratech.